Stock Market Opening Times: When Does the Stock Market Open?

Investing can be an exciting process, especially for new investors, but the stock market isn’t accessible 24 hours a day. 

Stock exchanges worldwide have fixed periods during which trading can occur between Monday and Friday. The exclusion of weekends is often seen as an annoyance. However, it serves as a valuable break from the volatility to enable investors to reflect and process updates from businesses. That’s why famous investor Warren Buffett always releases the earnings reports for Berkshire Hathaway on a Saturday when the market is closed.

With that said, what time does the stock market open in the UK and abroad?

Opening and closing times of the London Stock Exchange

There are multiple financial exchanges in the United Kingdom. But when it comes to dealing in stocks and shares, the London Stock Exchange is where most of it happens.

As the table shows, the London Stock Exchange and its AIM extension are open eight and half hours a day, Monday through Friday. However, at lunchtime, there is a two-minute period when all trading activity is paused.¹ Why does this break exist?

Investing through dark pools

Despite the timing, it has nothing to do with getting lunch. This two-minute session is actually an auctioning period for institutional investors, like pension funds, to execute trades in large blocks at a fixed price. 

This rule was introduced in 2014 as a means to reduce institutional reliance on “dark pools”.² These are private stock exchanges run by big banks that still exist today. Despite the shady-sounding name, dark pools are both legal and regulated. By enticing institutions to execute their large order blocks on the London Stock Exchange, it provides greater liquidity for retail investors who don’t have access to these private exchanges.

UK stock market holidays

Throughout the year, there are extra days when the stock market remains closed on specific holidays. This varies from country to country. Here in the UK, the stock market holidays are summarised in the table below.³

Opening and closing times of US stock exchanges

Across the pond, there are two primary stock exchanges in the US, namely the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. And for British investors seeking to buy foreign shares, the trading hours can be substantially different due to time zones.

Similar to the London Stock Exchange, both are open Monday through Friday. Neither exchange closes at lunchtime. However, it’s common to see trading activity cool down during this period. Most transactions are executed in the morning or right before the closing bell.

US stock market holidays

These exchanges also have stock market holidays, some of which are different to the UK.⁴

Opening and closing times of stock exchanges worldwide 

The UK and US stock exchanges are some of the most popular within the West. There are other exchanges worldwide that provide a host of other opportunities.⁵