The stock market closes at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on regular trading days

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ — the two largest U.S. stock exchanges — both stop accepting trades at 4 p.m. ET every weekday. This is the official market close. If you heard a closing bell or saw a headline about "market close," that time refers to 4 p.m. ET, regardless of what time zone you are in.

The market does not close at the same clock time everywhere. If you are on the West Coast, 4 p.m. ET is 1 p.m. Pacific Time. If you are in the Central Time Zone, it is 3 p.m. CT. The exchange uses Eastern Time as its official reference, so all closing times and opening times are stated in ET.

After 4 p.m. ET, trading continues in what is called the after-hours market, but this is a much smaller, less liquid market with wider price swings and fewer buyers and sellers. Most individual investors do not trade after hours unless they have a specific reason to do so.

Key Takeaways

  • The NYSE and NASDAQ close at 4 p.m. Eastern Time every weekday, and this is when the official closing price is set.
  • The market is closed on weekends and on federal holidays recognized by the exchanges, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
  • You can find today's closing time and prices on financial websites like Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, or your brokerage's website without paying a fee.
  • After-hours trading happens from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET, but prices can move more sharply and spreads are wider than during regular hours.

When the market is closed and does not trade

The stock market is closed on all weekends and on specific federal holidays. The NYSE and NASDAQ observe the following holidays each year: 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.

On these days, no regular trading occurs and no official closing price is set. If you place an order to buy or sell stock on a holiday, it will not execute until the market reopens. Some brokerages allow you to place orders in advance, but they sit in a queue and fill at the market open the next trading day, not at the price you might have expected.

Occasionally the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) or the exchanges themselves will close the market early — for example, at 2 p.m. ET instead of 4 p.m. ET — on the day after Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve if it falls on a weekday. Your brokerage will notify you if an early close is scheduled.

How to find the closing price for today or any recent day

The easiest way to find today's closing price is to visit a free financial website. Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, and MarketWatch all display the closing price and closing time for any stock or index within minutes of the market close. You do not need to create an account or pay a subscription.

Type the stock ticker symbol (for example, AAPL for Apple or MSFT for Microsoft) into the search box, and the site will show you the price at close, the time of close, and how much the price moved that day. These sites also show the after-hours price if trading occurred after 4 p.m.

If you own stocks through a brokerage account, you can also log into your account and see your holdings and their closing prices. Your brokerage updates these prices automatically after the market close, usually within a few minutes.

The difference between regular hours and after-hours trading

Regular trading hours run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. This is when the vast majority of trades happen, when prices are most stable, and when bid-ask spreads (the difference between what buyers will pay and what sellers will accept) are tightest. If you place a market order during these hours, it will fill almost when ready at a price very close to what you see on your screen.

After-hours trading runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET. During this time, fewer traders are active, prices can swing more sharply on smaller trades, and spreads widen. A stock that closed at $100 might trade at $101 or $99 in after-hours with very little volume. Most brokerages allow individual investors to trade after hours, but they require you to opt in and often charge a small fee or require a minimum account balance.

Pre-market trading also occurs before the official open at 9:30 a.m. ET, typically from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET. The same cautions explore: fewer traders, wider spreads, and sharper price moves on small volume. Many investors avoid both pre-market and after-hours trading because the conditions are less predictable.

Why the market closes at 4 p.m. and not another time

The NYSE has used 4 p.m. ET as its closing time since 1985. Before that, the market closed at 3 p.m. ET. The change was made to extend trading hours and give more time for trades to settle and for international investors to participate.

The 9:30 a.m. opening time dates back even further and reflects the historical coordination between the NYSE in New York and regional exchanges in other cities. By the time telegraph and telephone technology made real-time communication possible, 9:30 a.m. had become the standard, and it has remained so.

Other countries' stock exchanges close at different times based on their own time zones and market conventions. The London Stock Exchange closes at 4:30 p.m. GMT, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange closes at 3 p.m. JST. These staggered closing times allow global investors to trade continuously across different regions throughout the day.

What happens in the minutes right before and after 4 p.m.

In the final minutes before 4 p.m., trading volume often increases sharply as traders rush to close positions or enter last-minute orders. This is called the closing auction. The exchange uses an auction process to set the official closing price, which is the price at which the largest number of shares can trade at that moment.

Your broker may show you a "last sale" price that is slightly different from the official closing price because the last individual trade may have occurred at a different price than the auction price. Financial news sites report the official closing price, which is the one used to calculate daily gains and losses in your portfolio.

when ready after 4 p.m., after-hours trading begins. If significant news breaks after the close — such as an earnings announcement or a major company announcement — the stock may trade sharply higher or lower in after-hours. However, this after-hours move does not affect your portfolio's daily return calculation, which uses the 4 p.m. closing price.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the stock market close at the same time every day?

Yes, the market closes at 4 p.m. ET every regular trading day. The only exceptions are early closes (at 2 p.m. ET) on the day after Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve if it falls on a weekday. Your brokerage will notify you in advance if an early close is scheduled.

Can I trade after 4 p.m.?

Yes, after-hours trading runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on most brokerages, but you must opt in and may face wider spreads and lower volume. Prices can move more sharply, and orders may take longer to fill or may not fill at all.

What if I place an order right at 4 p.m.?

If you place a market order at or after 4 p.m., it will not execute during regular hours. It will either be rejected, held for the next trading day's open, or routed to after-hours trading depending on your broker's settings. Check your brokerage's order settings to see how it handles orders placed after the close.

Why do I see different prices on different websites?

Different financial websites may show slightly different closing prices if they update at different times or if they include after-hours trades. The official closing price is set by the exchange at 4 p.m. ET, but after-hours trades can occur at different prices. Always check the timestamp on the price to see whether it reflects the 4 p.m. close or a later after-hours trade.

Does the market close earlier on any day besides the day after Thanksgiving?

Yes, the market closes at 2 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve if it falls on a weekday. This is the only other regular early close. The SEC may also call for an unscheduled early close in rare circumstances, such as during a major market disruption, but this is uncommon.