Stock market holidays: when are markets closed?

Stock exchanges do not trade 365 days a year. Every venue runs its own calendar of trading days built around national public holidays, and on a handful of dates it rings the closing bell hours earlier than usual.

For an investor in the UK that means keeping track of at least two calendars. The London Stock Exchange follows the bank holidays, which move around the calendar from year to year. Wall Street, where most British portfolios now hold at least a slice of their equity exposure, follows a completely different set of dates. Christmas and the New Year come closest to a global pause, although even then the picture is uneven. Frankfurt shuts on Christmas Eve while London and New York trade a half day.

The tables below cover exchange holidays in the United States, Canada, Germany, the UK, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.

Stock market holidays in the US (NYSE and Nasdaq)

The NYSE and Nasdaq close on ten days of the year and finish early, at 1:00 pm New York time, on two more: the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Both fall in the winter months, so that is 6:00 pm in London. Independence Day lands on a Saturday in 2026, which pushes the market holiday to Friday 3 July. Good Friday is the only date on the list that is not a federal holiday. American banks work, the exchanges do not.

Stock market holidays in Canada (TSX)

Toronto stands still for ten days a year and closes at 1:00 pm local time on Christmas Eve. Five of its holidays are pinned to a Monday: Family Day, Victoria Day, the Civic Holiday, Labour Day and Thanksgiving. The Canadian Thanksgiving falls in October, more than six weeks before the American one. Boxing Day is a Saturday in 2026, so the substitute day off moves to Monday 28 December.

Stock market holidays in Germany (Frankfurt and Xetra)

The Frankfurt exchange and Xetra take seven days off in 2026 and run no shortened sessions at all. A day is either a full trading day or it is closed. Boxing Day is missing from the list because it falls on a Saturday. Unlike New York and London, Frankfurt shuts completely on Christmas Eve and again on New Year’s Eve.

Stock market holidays in the UK (LSE)

The London Stock Exchange mixes fixed dates with the moveable bank holidays, which always land on a Monday. That is why the early May, spring and summer closures shift by a few days each year. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are half days, with the order book closing at 12:30 pm. Because 26 December is a Saturday in 2026, the Boxing Day holiday is taken on Monday 28 December.

Stock market holidays in Italy (Borsa Italiana)

Of the European markets in this round-up, Milan takes the fewest days off and runs no shortened sessions. Beyond Christmas and the New Year it closes on Good Friday, Easter Monday and 1 May.

Stock market holidays in China (Shanghai and Shenzhen)

Chinese exchanges do not close for single days so much as for whole blocks. The Spring Festival around Lunar New Year and the Golden Week in October each take a full week out of the trading calendar. The dates follow the lunar calendar, so they move every year and are worth checking well in advance.

Hong Kong exchange holidays (HKEX)

Hong Kong observes the lunar calendar and the holidays left over from British rule at the same time, which adds up to fifteen closures. Twice a year the market trades the morning session only. Several dates overlap with mainland China, but the two calendars are not the same.

Tokyo exchange holidays (TSE)

Tokyo closes more often than any other market in this round-up, on nineteen days of the year. The turn of the year takes several sessions out in a row, and a second block arrives at the end of April and the start of May, the stretch the Japanese call Golden Week.

Australian exchange holidays (ASX)

The ASX is the most awkward market on this list for anyone trading from the UK, because its session runs through the British night. It takes seven days off, and on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve it closes at 2:10 pm Sydney time, which is the small hours of the morning in London.

How to prepare for a market holiday

1. Check the calendar of the exchange you actually trade on. Every venue publishes its own list of non-trading days and half days. Broker platforms usually mirror it, but the exchange page is the primary source.
2. Treat the half days as half days. An order sent to New York at 4:00 pm on Christmas Eve will not be filled that afternoon. It sits until the next session, and the price can gap in the meantime.
3. Expect thinner order books either side of a closure. Volumes drop before long weekends and holiday blocks, spreads widen and single orders move prices further than they would on a normal Wednesday.
4. Keep enough cash on the account before a long break. If you hold leveraged positions over the Lunar New Year week or Golden Week, margin calls do not wait for the market to reopen.

Roughly half of the dates above repeat every year without moving. The rest, the Easter weekend, the British bank holidays and the lunar dates in China and Hong Kong, shift around the calendar, which is why the list is worth a second look each January.