Stock Market Opening Hours: US, Canada, UK and Australia

What time does the stock market open?

Each stock exchange opens on weekdays, on its own local clock. These are the normal hours for ordinary shares. They do not apply on holidays or special short days.

New York and Toronto share the same clock, called Eastern Time. If you live elsewhere, convert it to your own clock. In Chicago (Central Time), the session runs from 8:30 am to 3 pm. In Los Angeles (Pacific Time), it runs from 6:30 am to 1 pm. The lab below shows your own local time.

Sources: NYSE hours, Nasdaq schedule, TMX trading hours, LSE investor FAQs and ASX trading hours.

Why does the opening time change where I live?

Most of these places move their clocks for daylight saving time, but on different dates. Sydney's summer is the northern winter. So the gap between your clock and the exchange's clock can change during the year.

For example, New York's 9:30 am open is 14:30 in UTC, the world's reference time, during New York's winter. In New York's summer, it is 13:30 UTC.

So never use a fixed number of hours all year. Check the date, and use named time zones such as America/New_York, Europe/London and Australia/Sydney in your calendar or app.

What happens at the open and the close?

The main session is not the whole day. Many exchanges collect orders before the open and match them in an auction, which sets the opening price. Some do the same at the close. Before the open, there can be a phase where you can send orders but nothing trades yet.

The ASX gives a detailed timetable. Its opening auction is set for 9:59 am, with a random delay. Normal trading can start from 9:59:45 am, which is why the table says "about 10:00". Normal trading ends at 4:00 pm, and a closing auction follows at around 4:10 pm.

Rules for changing or cancelling orders can be different around auctions. Check your exchange's timetable and your broker's help pages.

Can I trade before the open or after the close?

Sometimes. Sessions outside the main hours are called extended hours. Nasdaq's schedule lists pre-market trading from 4:00 am to 9:30 am, New York time. After-hours trading runs from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Your broker may offer less than that, or nothing.

Fewer people trade outside the main session. Spreads can be wider, prices can jump more, and some order types may not be allowed. A price you see at 7 pm may be very different from the next day's opening price.

Nasdaq has also announced plans for trading almost around the clock on weekdays. Its new overnight session is planned to start on 6 December 2026. Before you rely on it, check that it has started, which shares it covers and whether your broker offers it. See Nasdaq's 23/5 page.

Is the stock market open on holidays?

Each market has its own holiday calendar. US and Canadian markets do not close on all the same days. Toronto can be shut while New York trades, and the other way round. London and Sydney follow their own calendars too.

In the US, the NYSE lists 10 full holidays in 2026. It is closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26. It also closes early, at 1:00 pm, on Friday, November 27 and on Thursday, December 24.

Don't assume another exchange follows these dates. Check the TMX calendar, the LSE business days and the ASX calendar.

Why is my order still pending?

An order you place while the market is closed waits for the next session. Other common reasons:

• the order is not allowed in that session
• your limit price has not been reached
• trading in that share is paused
• the broker rejected it, for example for lack of funds

Check the order status before you send it again, or you may end up buying twice. And remember that a filled trade still has to settle before you can withdraw the money. See stock settlement in the US and Canada.