If you’re going to trade U.S. stocks, you need to know the exact time zone, right? Especially since there’s a 14-hour difference with Korea, and daylight saving time changes too, it’s easy to get confused. I’ve also missed a trading opportunity before because I misread the time.

The U.S. stock market basically has three exchanges—NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX—and they all have the same trading hours. Regular trading is from 09:30 to 16:00 Eastern Time (23:30 to 06:00 Korean time), the pre-market is from 04:00 to 09:30 (18:00 to 23:30 Korean time), and the after-hours market is from 16:00 to 20:00 (06:00 to 10:00 the next day). From mid-March to early November, everyone’s schedule is moved forward by 1 hour due to daylight saving time.

You also need to check U.S. holidays. In 2026, the market will be closed on January 1 (New Year’s Day), January 19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), February 16 (Presidents’ Day), April 3 (Good Friday), May 25 (Memorial Day), June 19 (Juneteenth Day), July 3 (Independence Day), September 7 (Labor Day), November 26 (Thanksgiving Day), and December 25 (Christmas).

In addition, there are also early closings before and after U.S. holidays. On July 2, November 27, and December 24, the market closes early at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. In Korean time, that’s early morning at 2:00 AM the next day.

One important point is that there is no price limit on U.S. stock markets. Unlike Korea, which has mechanisms to prevent sharp declines, the U.S. market may be more volatile. Settlement is completed 2 business days after the trade, and all transactions are conducted in U.S. dollars. If you plan to trade in other countries’ markets too, it’s a good idea to also note the trading hours in advance for Tokyo (09:00~15:00, closed from 11:30~12:30), London (08:00~16:30), Hong Kong (09:30~16:00, closed from 12:00~13:00), and Shanghai (09:30~15:00, closed from 11:30~13:00). Since U.S. holidays and daylight saving time affect the entire market, you need to make it a habit to check every time.