Stock market trading hours

In North America, the NYSE is the largest stock exchange in the world. Together with NASDAQ, TSX and the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, this accounts for more than 40% of worldwide total value. The average US stock market hours​​​ reflect those in Europe and Oceania, starting at approximately 9am and closing at 5pm.

The South American stock market is modest in comparison with other competitors, given there is a trend that the largest stock exchange value falls above the equator. The B3 Brazil Stock Exchange represents a large percentage of overall value across this continent, having formed from the merging of two smaller stock exchanges in São Paulo, BM&F and Bovespa. The Santiago Stock Exchange in Chile changes its trading hours in the summer months, extending their closing time from 4pm to 5pm, with the hope of increasing volume to the stock markets from a longer opportunity.

European stock market hours are generally considered the longest of all regions, and they do not include a lunch break within trading hours. The largest exchange of the region by market capitalization is Euronext, which is a collective stock exchange that represents a number of European stock markets, including Amsterdam, Paris, Lisbon, Brussels and Dublin. This is followed closely by the London Stock Exchange. London stock market hours extend from 8am to 4.30pm.

JSE is the largest stock exchange in Africa, located in the southernmost country of South Africa, which has an agreement with the LSE to enable cross-dealing between the two stock exchanges. Other prevalent markets are located in Nigeria and Egypt.

As you can infer from the table, stock markets in Asia tend to close slightly earlier than in other regions, mostly between 3pm and 4pm. They tend to stop for an hourly lunch break between 11.30am and 1.30pm local time, including the major exchanges in Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore, as well as smaller island markets. However, the Korea Stock Exchange is an exception to this rule, as there is no lunch break. The lunch break ban was introduced in 2000 in a bid to encourage growth of the markets, as well as extending the stock market’s close time to 3.30pm instead of 3pm. Increasing the availability of trading hours is a tactic used with the hope of increasing the volume of transactions made by traders throughout the day when other regions in Asia are closed, such as the Taiwan or Shenzhen stock exchanges.

Stock exchanges in Oceania, including the ASX and New Zealand Stock Exchange, open at 10am, which is relatively later than other stock markets worldwide. They also do not include a lunch break in a similar way to the Western markets.