Stock Market Opening Times Worldwide

In this article, you’ll find the stock market opening times of the world’s top stock exchanges, ranked by market capitalization. This is important for traders because most trading happens during these sessions. The end of trading sessions are also important because we tend to see trading volume pick up around this time. Keep on reading to learn more about the trading hours.

Top 10 stock exchange markets: Opening and closing times

Depending on the country the stock market is based in will determine the opening times. No matter the time zone you’re based in, there will be a market available for you to trade.

See below for the top ten stock exchange opening times. 

Stock exchange trading hours in Europe

There are several stock exchanges in Europe, but the London stock exchange, LSE, and the German Deutsche Börse (Xetra) are the biggest per market capitalization. Others are the French Stock Exchange (CAC40), the EuroStoxx which is based in Belgium, and the Zurich SMI.

What time does the stock market open in the UK?

The London stock exchange opens at 08:00 UK time and closes at 16:00. You will find big firms like Lloyd’s Bank and Tesco trading on the London stock exchange.

What time does the stock market open in Germany?

The opening time of Deutsche Börse (Xetra) is 08:00 UK time, and the stock market closes at 16:30 GMT. Deutsche Börse operates several venues, but Xetra is the most popular and hosts most of the DAX 30 firms. The DAX 30 is a stock index of the 30 biggest German firms. 

What time does the Euronext stock market in Paris, Lisbon, Brussels and Amsterdam open?

The opening time of the Euronext is 08:00 GMT, and the closing time is 16:30 GMT. Euronext is based in the Netherlands but operates its markets in Belgium, UK, Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, Sweden and France. 

It has more than 1,500 listed companies pooled from these countries, with a market cap of 4.1 trillion Euros. Among the top 10 stocks on Euronext by market cap are IBM, LVMH, Merck and Co Inc, L'Oreal, HSBC Holdings, Total, AB INBEV, Royal Dutch Shell and Sanofi.

What time does the SIX Swiss Exchange Open?

The Swiss Exchange opens at 08:00 GMT and closes by 16:00 GMT. The SIX Swiss Exchange is the principal stock exchange of Switzerland. It is owned by the SIX Group, hence the name and was formed by a merger of the three local exchanges. 

Several indices are measured on the SIX Swiss Exchange, of which the Swiss Market Index or SMI (also known as Zurich SMI) is the largest. The SMI measures the 20 largest companies out of 200 that are listed on the Swiss Performance Index. Among the top companies by market cap are Nestle, Roche, Novartis, Zurich Insurance, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) and Lonza. 

Stock exchange trading hours in the Americas

The major stock exchanges in the Americas are those of the US, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The US exchanges dwarf all the others by market capitalisation and is the largest stock exchange in the world. 

What time does the US stock market open? (North America)

There are several US stock markets, but the most popular are the NYSE and NASDAQ. The New York stock exchange hours are 14:30 to 21:00 UK time (GMT). The NASDAQ trading hours are also 14:30-21:00 UK time. 

The Nasdaq opening time at 14:30 UK time is essential and we tend to see the highest volume at that time. The Nasdaq is also known as the tech index, because of the sheer number of companies involved in the tech space that are listed on the index. This is where big companies like Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla and Microsoft are all listed. Foreign companies are also listed on these markets as American Depository Receipts (ADR).

What time does the stock market open in Canada?

The Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX, opens for trading at 14:30 UK time. The trading session ends at -21:00 GMT. The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) is located in Toronto, Canada and is one of the top 10 largest exchanges in the world. 

Owned and operated by the TMX Group, it features 1,569 assets which also include ETFs and other derivatives. Among the top 10 stocks on the TSX by market cap are Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank, Enbridge Inc, Ban of Nova Scotia and Canada National Railway Co. Others are Brookfield Asset Management, Suncor Energy Inc and TransCanada Corp.

What time does the stock market open in Brazil? (South America)

The Ibovespa’s trading hours are 12:00 to 21:00 London time. The Bovespa index, also known as Índice Bovespa or Ibovespa, is Brazil's stock exchange. It tracks the performance of 60 stocks traded on the Bolsa Balcão, which is where most of the trading on the Brazilian stock market takes place. 

Among the most capitalised stocks on the Ibovespa include Petrobras, Itaú Unibanco, Banco Bradesco, AmBev, Vale, Santander Brasil and Banco do Brasil. Itausa and Telefônica Brasil also make the list. 

What time does the stock market open in Mexico? (Latin America)

The Mexico stock exchange opens at 14:30 UK time and closes at 21:00. Also known as the Mexican Bolsa or Mexbol, the Mexican Stock Exchange is the second-largest stock exchange in Latin America. Owned by the BMV Group, the top-ranked stocks on the exchange by market cap are America Movil, Wal-Mart de Mexico, Southern Copper Corporation, Fomento Economico Mexicano, Grup Mexico, Grupo Elektra, Arca Continental and Grup Financiero Banorte. 

Stock exchange trading hours in Asia

The Tokyo stock exchange is Asia’s biggest stock market by market capitalisation, and it’s open between 09:00 to 15:00 local time. However, if you’re based in the UK, the stock market opens at midnight, and closes at six am in the morning. The night hours trading is excellent if trading during the day is not possible for you. 

What time does the stock market open in Japan?

The Tokyo stock exchange opens at 00:00 GMT and closes at 06:00 GMT. The Tokyo Stock exchange is the Nikkei, which tracks the performance of the top 225 stocks in the exchange. Chugai Pharmaceutical, Fast Retailing, Daikin Industries, Daiichi Sankyo and FANUC make up the top five stocks on the Nikkei 225 by market capitalisation. 

The price-weighting method has been used to calculate the daily value of the index since 1950, and this is performed annually by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (The Nikkei) newspaper.

What time does the stock market open in Shanghai, China?

The Shanghai Composite Index (SSE Index) tracks the performance of stocks that trade on both the Shanghai Stock Exchange and a smaller exchange in Shenzhen. It is the 4th largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization. 

The SSE opens at 01:30 GMT and trades till 03:30 GMT, before proceeding on a 90-minute break period. Trading then resumes at 05:00 and closes at 07:00 GMT. Stock trading is composed of the A shares and B shares and commenced in 1991 with a base value of CNY100.  

It tracks the performance of the top 30 companies in Singapore by market capitalisation on the SGX Main Board. DBS Group Holdings makes up 15% of the market cap of the STI, followed by Oversea-Chinese Banking (12.66%) and United Overseas Bank (10.64%). The largest companies by market cap are led by PetroChina, followed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China. 

What time does the stock market open in Hong Kong?

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange opens at 01:30 and closes early in the UK morning at 08:10. The Hang Seng Index tracks the performance of the top 50 companies by market capitalisation on the Hong Kong exchange. 

However, these companies make up only 58% of the exchange's total market cap. It was formed 50 years ago. The top companies by market cap include Tencent, followed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Ping An Insurance and China Construction Bank. China Mobile, AIA Group and HSBC are also found in the top 10 companies by market cap on the Hang Seng. 

What time does the stock market open in South Korea?

The stock market of South Korea is the KOSPI. KOSPI is the acronym for the Korea Composite Stock Price Index and it tracks the performance of 200 common stocks of the Korea Exchange. It started in 1983 with a base value of 100 Won, and is equivalent to the S&P 500 in the US. 

The KOSPI’s trading hours start from midnight GMT and end at 06:30 GMT. Samsung Electronics has the largest weighting on the KOSPI, comprising almost 30% of the weight of the KOSPI 200. POSCO, KT, Pan Ocean and Hyundai Motors make up the rest of the top five stocks on the KOSPI by market cap.

What time does the stock market open in Singapore?

The stock market of the Singapore Exchange, the Straits Times Index (STI) opens at 00:30 GMT and closes at 09:06 GMT. The Straits Times Index is owned by the FTSE Group and the Singapore Exchange (SGX). 

The Straits Times Index (STI) dates back to 1966 but has been recalculated several times in its history. The STI tracks the performance of the top 30 companies in Singapore by market capitalisation on the SGX Main Board. DBS Group Holdings makes up 15% of the market cap of the STI, followed by Oversea-Chinese Banking (12.66%) and United Overseas Bank (10.64%).

Stock exchange trading hours in the Middle East and Africa

This section is made up of the top exchanges in the MENA region (the Middle East and North Africa) as well as the stock exchanges within the African continent. Here, the stock exchanges in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria are featured. 

What time does the stock market open in Saudi Arabia? 

The Saudi Stock Exchange opens from 07:00 to 12:00 GMT, Sunday to Thursday. Fridays and Saturdays are considered a weekend in Saudi Arabia, with Friday taken off as the worship day. 

It tracks the performance of 171 publicly-listed companies. The Tadawul is the largest stock exchange in the Middle East and North African region (MENA). 

It started trading in 1985 with a nominal value of 1000. The Tadawul was the world’s 25th biggest stock exchange in 2018. As of July 2020, it’s in 9th position. Saudi Aramco is expected to become the largest stock by market cap on the Tadawul when it lists. The weighting will be capped at 10%.

What time does the stock market open in the UAE?

The Dubai financial market opens at 05:30 am UK time, and closes at 10:00 GMT. It is the largest of three stock markets that operate in the UAE. It tracks the performance of 67 companies operating in the UAE. The top 5 companies by market cap include Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emaar Properties and Emirates Integrated Telecoms Company. 

What time does the stock market open in Egypt? (Middle East)

The Egypt stock exchange opens at 08:00 am UK time, and closes at 10:30 GMT. Two exchanges, one in Cairo and the other in Alexandria make up the Egyptian Stock Exchange. The exchange tracks the performance of the top 30 most liquid company stocks by market cap. It is one of the few exchanges where gains made on stock trading are free of capital gains tax.

What time does the stock market open in South Africa?

The South Africa stock exchange opens at 07:00 am UK time, and closes at 15:00 GMT. 473 companies are listed on the JSE and it is reputed to be the largest in Africa by market cap. Among the top 10 companies by market cap on the JSE include Prosus NV, Anheuser-Busch InBex SA/NV, British American Tobacco (BAT), Naspers Ltd, BHP Group, Anglo-American Plc and mining company Glencore. 

What time does the stock market open in Nigeria?

The Nigerian Stock Exchange opens at 08:30 am UK time, and closes at 13:30 GMT. The 10 top stocks by market cap on the Nigerian Stock Exchange include MTN Communications, Dangote Cement, Airtel Africa, Nestle, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC and Nigerian Breweries. 

Stock exchange trading hours in Oceania

The biggest stock exchange in Oceania is the Australian Securities Exchange, which is the home to the ASX 200 index. Other stock exchanges of importance include the New Zealand Exchange, and the Fiji Stock Exchange is known as the South Pacific Stock Exchange.

What time does the stock market open in Australia?

The Australia stock exchange opens at 00:00 UK time and closes at 06:00 GMT. The index includes big firms like the miner, BHP Group Ltd, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. BHP Group Ltd, Rio Tinto Ltd, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CSL Limited and Westpac Banking Corporation are some of the largest stocks listed on the ASX by market cap.

What time does the stock market open in New Zealand?

The New Zealand stock exchange opens at 22:00 UK time and closes at 06:00 GMT. The New Zealand Exchange or NZX has 178 listed companies. It started operations as NZX in 2002, but the earliest trading in New Zealand stocks dates back to the 1870s when a number of regional exchanges sprang up during the gold rush of that era. 

The top companies on the NZX by market cap include Westpac Banking Corp, Aust & NZ Bank Group, Telstra Corp Ltd, Fisher & Paykel, A2 Milk Co Ltd and Meridian Energy Ltd.

What time does the stock market open in Fiji?

The South Pacific Stock Exchange in Fiji uses an electronic platform which operates in two trading sessions. The first session starts by 22:30 GMT and ends at 23:30 GMT, while the second session opens at 02:30 UK time and closes at 03:30 GMT. There are premarket and aftermarket hours, but no matching of orders takes place during those times. 

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