Amanda Bellucco-Chatham is an editor, writer and data verifier with years of experience researching personal finance topics. Specialties include general financial planning, professional development, lending, retirement, tax preparation, and credit. A stock exchange is a market where you can buy and sell stocks during certain hours of the day. It functions as an entity that ensures orderly trading and efficient dissemination of price quotes for publicly traded companies.
Trading usually takes place Monday through Friday. The Saudi stock exchange is an exception to the rule, as it is open from Sunday to Thursday. A small number of exchanges close during a lunch break. This is most commonly seen in Asian markets.
The London Stock Exchange has a two-minute break at noon every day. For a US investor, access to any of the international markets and exchanges requires an account with a brokerage agency, online or offline. Some bags close for half a day from time to time. For example, the New York Stock Exchange is only open until 1 p.m. Exchanges publish their annual calendars well in advance.
North American operations are generally based on the Eastern time zone, no matter where the stock exchange is located. The exception is the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), which publishes its hours in central time, but adjusts them to match those of the New York Stock Exchange. The headquarters of the commercial exchanges are located in New York City, Toronto and Mexico City. The westernmost time zone is Mexico City, and the BMV is trading within Central Standard Time (CST) business hours. However, although the BMV is listed on CST, the hours reflect those of the New York Stock Exchange, so, all things considered, the trade is open for the same period of time.
There are 11 time zones in Asia and its immediate neighbors, but thankfully, they synchronize their exchange schedules for the sake of trade and liquidity. The Shanghai Stock Exchange has 18 market holidays in one year, including a five-day break for the Chinese New Year. Europe, like Asia, has a lot of individual exchanges. The largest stock exchange organization in Europe is Euronext, a pan-European exchange that operates in seven countries and is headquartered in Amsterdam. The largest stock exchange in South America is located in São Paulo, Brazil.
The stock exchange is trading two hours earlier than the New York Stock Exchange, so much of the stock follows that of the New York Stock Exchange. All stocks, commodities and options are traded on the São Paulo stock exchange. The largest stock exchange in Africa is located in Johannesburg, South Africa. Egypt, Mauritius and Nigeria have smaller bags. The Johannesburg stock exchange is open from 9 in the morning South African Standard Time (SAST), no lunch break.
The stock exchange, therefore, opens 6 and a half hours before the New York Stock Exchange. The market opens later than most at 10 in the morning local time and there's no lunch break. A stock exchange is a market or infrastructure that makes it easy to trade stocks. The stock exchange is founded and managed by a corporation, private or public. It allows companies to list their shares on their market.
The term “stock market” refers more generally to all stocks or to a group of stocks in a particular region, industry or sector. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has a two-minute break at noon. Your merchants don't eat so fast. The minibreak is designed to protect institutional operators from high-frequency operators whose transactions in a fraction of a second can skew prices.
Trading Hours
If you're a trader or investor it's important to know and understand what time the stock market opens.If you place a trade outside stock market hours your trade will wait in a queue until the start of the next trading session. This can also make a big difference in the prices you'll get for your trade since news or other events may appear in the meantime. I've put together this quick guide to help you understand when the stock market is open:
- New York Stock Exchange: 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
- NASDAQ Stock Exchange: 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
Shortened Trading Days on the Stock Exchange
When the stock market experiences major declines it will suspend trading at what is known as a circuit breaker. The purpose of this is simply to slow things down.Basically, the stock market moves fast; very fast. And as such in cases of major events or news it can move faster than human decision makers may think.
Different Stock Exchanges Around The World Have Different Opening And Closing Times
If you invest in international stocks and mutual funds it can also be helpful to know when other major stock markets are open. In addition international news can easily affect the stock market here in the United States.- Tokyo Stock Exchange: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm JST
- London Stock Exchange: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm GMT
- Hong Kong Stock Exchange: 9:30 am - 4:00 pm HKT
- Shanghai Stock Exchange: 9:30 am - 3:00 pm CST
- Toronto Stock Exchange: 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
- Deutsche Börde (German Stock Exchange): 8:00 am - 5:30 pm CET
Stock Exchanges Are Closed But Most Global Exchanges Are Still Trading
With the rise of cryptocurrencies around the world many people are wondering if the hours are similar to those in the stock market. The short answer is no.Cryptocurrencies are traded 24 hours a day every day of the year. This makes it a bit riskier and more volatile than stocks as changes can occur overnight while you sleep. He writes regularly about investments student loans debts and general personal finance topics.