I just recently found out that the U.S. stock trading hours are more complicated than I thought, so I’ll share what I organized. It might be helpful for people who are planning to get into the market.

First, the most important—U.S. market opening hours. Normal trading is from 9:30 to 16:00 (U.S. Eastern Time), Monday through Friday, but you need to note that it’s currently in standard time. When converted to Taiwan time, that’s 10:30 PM to 5:00 AM the next day. If you’re used to trading during the day, you may need to adjust your schedule. In addition to regular trading, there is pre-market trading (4:00–9:30) and after-hours trading (16:00–20:00), though liquidity is relatively lower during those times.

The U.S. stock market has three main exchanges—New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, and American Stock Exchange (AMEX). The NYSE is the largest, with more than 3,500 listed stocks; NASDAQ mainly features tech stocks—companies like Microsoft and Apple are there; AMEX is mainly focused on small- and mid-cap stocks. Although the exchanges operate independently, in most cases their opening and closing times are synchronized.

When it comes to U.S. stock market holiday closures, this is something you absolutely have to remember. In 2026, there will be a number of holidays when the market will be closed, such as New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so on. In particular, note that the day after Thanksgiving (November 27) and the day before Christmas (December 24) will close three hours early. The year when Independence Day falls on a Saturday—July 4—was that case, so the market closed early on Friday, July 3.

One more easily overlooked point—America switches between daylight saving time and standard time. Daylight saving time starts at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2:00 AM on the first Sunday in November; during this period, the time difference between Taiwan and the U.S. changes. Standard time is the current situation, and the time difference is relatively fixed. If you trade U.S. stocks year-round, be sure to mark these transition dates so you don’t end up getting the trading hours wrong.