The opening and closing times for the worlds stock exchanges vary, though they generally close in the evening (in local time).
Stock exchanges are simply marketplaces where shares and other financial instruments are traded during opening hours. In order to trade a share or financial instrument on a particular stock exchange, that security must be listed there. Each stock market is subject to its own government regulations and rules.
Whilst historically the majority of trading at the stock exchange was done in person (picture scenes of traders screaming buy or sell), the vast majority of trading is now done digitally through a collection of digital trading platforms.
The world’s biggest stock exchange is currently the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), though there are 17 stock exchanges with market capitalisation exceeding £1 trillion (i.e. the total value of shares traded on the exchange exceeds £1 trillion), and hundreds of stock exchanges in total.
The trading hours of all stock exchanges exceeding this threshold are listed below:
North American Stock Exchanges
| Stock Exchange | Trading Hours |
|---|---|
| New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) | M-F, 9:30am - 4:00pm (EDT) |
| NASDAQ (full name, National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) | M-F, 9:30am - 4:00pm (EDT) |
| Toronto Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:30am - 4:00pm (EDT) |
Asian Stock Exchanges
| Stock Exchange | Trading Hours |
|---|---|
| Shanghai Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:30am - 11:30am, 1:00pm - 3:00pm (CST) |
| Hong Kong Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:30am - 12:00pm, 1:00pm - 4:00pm (HKT) |
| Shenzhen Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:30am - 11:30am, 1:00pm - 2:57pm (CST) |
| India National Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:15am - 3:30pm (IST) |
| South Korea Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:00am - 3:30pm (KST) |
| Taiwan Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:00am - 1:30pm (CST) |
| Bombay Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:15am - 3:30pm (IST) |
Middle Eastern Stock Exchanges
| Stock Exchange | Trading Hours |
|---|---|
| Saudi Stock Exchange | Su-Th, 10:00am - 3:00pm (+03) |
European Stock Exchanges
| Stock Exchange | Trading Hours |
|---|---|
| Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:00am - 5:30pm (CET) |
| London Stock Exchange (LSE) | M-F, 8:00am - 12:00pm, 12:02pm - 4:30pm (GMT) |
| Frankfurt Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:00am - 5:30pm (CET) |
| Stockholm Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:00am - 5:25pm (CET) |
| Swiss Stock Exchange | M-F, 9:00am - 5:20pm (CET) |
Oceania Stock Exchanges
| Stock Exchange | Trading Hours |
|---|---|
| Australia Stock Exchange | M-F, 10:00am - 4:00pm (AEDT) |