US market trading hours: the full guide in London time
August 26, 2026
Short answer
The New York exchanges — NYSE and Nasdaq — trade 09:30–16:00 local time. In London time that comes out as:
| Period | Pre-market | Regular session | After hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 – March 6 | 09:00 – 14:30 | 14:30 – 21:00 | 21:00 – 01:00 |
| March 9 – March 27 | 08:00 – 13:30 | 13:30 – 20:00 | 20:00 – 00:00 |
| March 30 – October 23 | 09:00 – 14:30 | 14:30 – 21:00 | 21:00 – 01:00 |
| October 26 – October 30 | 08:00 – 13:30 | 13:30 – 20:00 | 20:00 – 00:00 |
| November 2 – December 31 | 09:00 – 14:30 | 14:30 – 21:00 | 21:00 – 01:00 |
The bold column is the session that matters: almost all the volume forms there. Pre-market and after-hours are open, but volume is thin and spreads widen.
Why the hours shift
Because both sides change their clocks, but not on the same day. The United States enters summer time on the second Sunday of March and leaves it on the first Sunday of November; the European Union enters on the last Sunday of March and leaves on the last Sunday of October. On the days in between, the gap between London and New York is an hour different from usual.
That is why the table above has 5 periods rather than two. Two short windows a year — a few weeks in spring, a few days in autumn — fall outside the usual hours, and those are the windows people get wrong.
The open and the close are not ordinary minutes
Exchanges hold an auction at each end of the session, matching accumulated orders at a single price. That is why the first and last minutes carry a disproportionate share of the day's volume, and why a closing price is the result of an auction rather than the last trade of the day.
How much it overlaps with London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange trades 08:00–16:30 local time. The overlap with New York runs 2 h in summer and 2 h in winter.
That narrow window is the busiest moment of the day for anyone holding both sides: news on one side shows up on the other immediately. Outside it, a move in America reaches you as an opening gap the next day.
Holidays and half days
The hours above are for ordinary days. The New York exchanges close entirely on ten days a year and close early on a few more. The full list, in your own time: US market holidays.
Which exchange is open right now
The current state of 19 major exchanges — what is open, what is on a break, what opens next — in your own time zone: the trading hours page.