When the Stock Market Is Open and Closed
The stock market is closed tomorrow if tomorrow is a Saturday, Sunday, or one of nine federal holidays
The stock market — meaning the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, where most individual investors trade — operates Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time. It closes on weekends and on nine specific federal holidays each year. If tomorrow falls on a weekend or one of those holidays, you cannot place trades through normal channels.
The nine holidays when U.S. stock markets close are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Some of these move around the calendar each year — Good Friday and Thanksgiving are not fixed dates — so the schedule changes annually.
On days when the main exchanges are closed, you cannot buy or sell stocks, ETFs, or most other securities through your regular brokerage account. Some brokerages offer after-hours trading or pre-market trading on regular business days, but those windows do not exist on market holidays.
Key Takeaways
- The stock market is closed every Saturday and Sunday, and on nine federal holidays that change slightly each year.
- You cannot place regular trades on market holidays, though some brokerages may offer limited after-hours options on regular business days.
- Market holidays include New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and five others that shift dates annually.
- If you need to know whether the market is open tomorrow, check your brokerage's calendar or the NYSE website for the current year's schedule.
How to check if the market is open tomorrow
The fastest way is to look at your brokerage's website or app — most show a calendar of market hours and holidays. Fidelity, Charles Schwab, E-Trade, and other major brokerages display this information prominently, often with a note on the homepage when the market will be closed the next day.
You can also check the New York Stock Exchange website directly. The NYSE publishes its annual holiday schedule in advance, so you can see the full year at once. This is useful if you are planning trades around holidays or want to know whether a specific date will be a trading day.
What happens if you try to trade on a closed day
If you submit a trade order when the market is closed, your brokerage will hold it in a queue and execute it when the market opens the next trading day — usually the following morning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. You do not lose the order; it simply waits.
This matters because the price you see when you place the order may not be the price you get when it executes. If the market moves overnight or over a weekend, your order might fill at a different price than you expected. Some investors use this to their advantage by placing orders before a long weekend, but others find it risky.
Early and late trading on regular business days
On days when the stock market is open, many brokerages offer pre-market trading (usually 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Eastern) and after-hours trading (usually 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern). These are not the same as regular market hours, and they come with trade-offs: fewer buyers and sellers, wider price spreads, and less liquidity.
Pre-market and after-hours trading are available on regular business days only — not on weekends or market holidays. If you need to trade on a day when the main market is closed, you cannot use these windows either.
International markets and cryptocurrency
If you own international stocks or ETFs that track foreign exchanges, those markets may be open when the U.S. stock market is closed. The London Stock Exchange, Tokyo Stock Exchange, and other major markets operate on their own schedules and their own holiday calendars. A U.S. market holiday does not close them.
Cryptocurrency markets like Bitcoin and Ethereum trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no official holidays. If you hold crypto, you can trade it anytime, including weekends and U.S. market holidays. This is one reason some investors use crypto as a way to stay active when stock markets are closed.
Planning around market closures
If you know the market will be closed tomorrow and you have a trade you want to make, you have a few options. You can place the order now and let it sit until the market opens, though the price may change. You can wait until the market reopens and place the order then. Or, if you need to trade outside regular hours, you can explore pre-market or after-hours trading on the next available business day.
For longer closures — like the four-day weekend around Thanksgiving or the week between Christmas and New Year's — many investors plan ahead. They may adjust their positions before the closure or decide to sit tight and avoid the uncertainty of a gap in trading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I place a trade on a market holiday?
You can submit an order, but it will not execute until the market reopens. Your brokerage will hold it in queue and fill it at the next available market open, usually 9:30 a.m. Eastern the following trading day. The price may differ from what you saw when you placed the order.
Does the stock market close early on any days?
Yes. The day before Thanksgiving and the day before Christmas, the market closes at 1 p.m. Eastern instead of 4 p.m. Regular trading hours apply on all other business days. Check your brokerage's calendar to confirm these early-close days each year.
What if I need to sell stock on a market holiday?
You cannot sell during regular market hours on a holiday. You can place a sell order that will execute when the market reopens, but you will not control the exact price. If you need to sell urgently on a holiday, cryptocurrency or international stock markets may be your only options.
Are bond markets closed on the same days as stock markets?
Yes. The bond market, the options market, and most other U.S. securities markets follow the same holiday schedule as the stock market. They all close on weekends and the same nine federal holidays.