Just saw the US stock market opening schedule, and realized we’re already in winter time (daylight saving time has ended). No wonder the recent trading hours have felt a bit different. The US stock market opens today from 10:30 PM to 5:00 AM Taiwan time, which is one hour later than during daylight saving time—something we Asian investors still need to remember.

There are mainly three exchanges for US stocks: the New York Stock Exchange is the largest, NASDAQ is electronic trading (mainly tech stocks), and the American stock exchange mainly handles small- and mid-cap stocks. That said, honestly, there isn’t much difference for retail investors—the opening and closing times are the same.

Today is May 19, and it’s not a US market holiday, so trading can proceed normally. However, be sure to keep track of the US market holidays in the second half of this year, especially the days around Independence Day in July and Thanksgiving in November—those are easy to forget and can lead to missed trading opportunities. If you want to trade US stocks, first figure out that the opening hours are the most important for working people. There may also be opportunities during pre-market and after-hours—depending on your trading habits.