I only recently realized that many people don’t know how to map US stock market closing times to Taiwan time—especially when it comes to converting between time zones. In fact, this is quite important for investors in Taiwan. So I’m going to share the information I’ve organized.

First, you need to know that there are three major trading exchanges for US stocks: the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX). Although they operate independently, their opening and closing times are basically synchronized. Regular trading hours for US stocks are from 9:30 to 16:00 US Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. In addition, there is pre-market trading (4:00–9:30) and after-hours trading (16:00–20:00).

The key question is: how do you calculate Taiwan time? The US stock market has daylight saving time and standard time changes, while Asia doesn’t, so the time difference is different. During daylight saving time (roughly mid-March to early November), the time difference is 12 hours; during standard time, it becomes 13 hours. With daylight saving time currently in effect, the US regular trading session 9:30–16:00 corresponds to Taiwan time 21:30–4:00. Pre-market corresponds to 16:30–21:30 Taiwan time, and after-hours corresponds to 4:00–8:00. If it’s standard time, you need to move Taiwan time one hour later, so the US market close corresponds to 22:30–5:00.

Also, pay attention to the US stock market holiday schedule in 2026. The market will be closed on New Year’s Day (1/1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (1/19), Washington’s Birthday (2/16), Good Friday (4/3), Memorial Day (5/25), Juneteenth (6/19), Independence Day (7/4; since 7/4 falls on a Saturday, the market will be closed on Friday 7/3), Labor Day (9/7), Thanksgiving (11/26), and Christmas (12/25). The day after Thanksgiving (11/27) and the day before Christmas (12/24) will have early closures—closing three hours earlier.

If you’re more interested in NYSE, it’s the world’s largest stock exchange, with more than 3,500 listed stocks. Although trading is mainly electronic today, on-floor trading still has an important position. NASDAQ is a bit special: it’s an all-electronic exchange, and the listed companies are mainly high-tech firms like Microsoft and Apple. AMEX is the third-largest market in the US, primarily focused on small- and mid-cap stocks, and it’s also the only exchange that allows you to trade stocks, futures, and derivatives all at the same time.

In short, to trade US stocks from Taiwan, you must clearly understand these time correspondences—especially what time US market close falls on in Taiwan time—so you don’t miss trading opportunities or get confused by the time difference.