If you’re sitting on your couch waiting for the turkey to hit 165 degrees and wondering if you can squeeze in a few trades, I have some bad news. Is stock market open thanksgiving? No. It isn’t.
Actually, it’s one of the few days a year where the entire financial apparatus of the United States basically just... stops. Wall Street goes dark. The trading floors at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq are empty, save for maybe a few security guards and some very expensive servers humming in the basement.
It’s kind of a big deal. Most people think of "the market" as this unstoppable digital monster that eats and sleeps 24/7 because of crypto or international futures, but the US equity markets are surprisingly old-school when it comes to holidays. They take their breaks seriously.
The Hard Truth About Thanksgiving Trading Hours
The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are both closed on Thanksgiving Day. Every single year. This isn't one of those things where they close early or have "skeleton crews." They are shut tight.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a relic. But it's a relic that everyone respects. If you try to place a limit order or a market order on Thursday, it’s just going to sit there in a queue, staring back at you until Friday morning.
But wait. There is a "Black Friday" catch.
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While the market is fully closed on Thursday, it doesn't just spring back to life for a full day on Friday. The day after Thanksgiving is an "early close" day. The NYSE and Nasdaq wrap things up at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. If you’re a bond trader, you get out even earlier—the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) usually recommends a 2:00 PM ET close for bonds on Wednesday and a 12:00 PM ET close on Friday.
It’s basically a half-day of work for the entire financial sector. Volume is usually pathetic. Most big-name institutional traders are still in a food coma or out shopping, so the liquidity dries up. It’s a weird time to be in the market.
Why Does the Market Even Close?
You’d think in 2026, with high-frequency trading and AI-driven algorithms, we wouldn't need to shut down for a bird-themed holiday. But the US markets have a long-standing tradition of observing federal holidays.
The NYSE has a history that stretches back to the Buttonwood Agreement in 1792. Back then, you couldn't trade without physical humans in a room. While we’ve moved to silicon and fiber optics, the human element—the brokers, the clearinghouse staff, the regulators—still needs a day off.
It’s also about stability. If the US markets were open while the rest of the country’s banking infrastructure was closed, you’d have a nightmare with settlement. You can't really move massive amounts of capital if the Fedwire Funds Service isn't fully operational for domestic transfers.
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What About International Markets and Crypto?
This is where it gets slightly confusing for newer investors. Just because the NYSE is closed doesn't mean the world is closed.
- London and Tokyo: The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) don’t care about American Thanksgiving. They’ll be trading as usual. However, since the US is the "gorilla" of the global economy, volume in these markets can sometimes be a bit weirdly sluggish when the Americans aren't playing.
- Futures: US stock futures (like the E-mini S&P 500) do trade on Thanksgiving, but only for a limited time. They usually stop trading in the afternoon, around 1:00 PM ET, and stay closed until the evening.
- Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin doesn't eat turkey. The crypto markets are the only place where the answer to "is the market open" is always yes. 24/7/365. If you absolutely must see red and green candles flickering on your screen while your uncle argues about politics, crypto is your only destination.
The "Holiday Effect" and Market Volatility
There’s this thing called the "Santa Claus Rally," but Thanksgiving has its own little vibe too. Historically, the week of Thanksgiving tends to be bullish.
Think about it.
Most people are feeling good. They’re looking at their portfolios before the end of the year. There’s a psychological lift. However, because the volume is so low on the Wednesday before and the Friday after, any "big" move is often exaggerated. If a major news story breaks while the market is closed or in a low-volume state, the opening bell on Monday can be absolutely chaotic.
I remember back in 2009, during the Dubai debt crisis. It broke right around Thanksgiving. Because the US markets were thin or closed, the initial reaction was magnified. It felt like the sky was falling because there weren't enough buyers in the room to catch the knife.
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Don't Forget the Bond Market
I touched on this, but it’s worth repeating: the bond market plays by different rules. SIFMA sets these rules. Generally, the bond market is way more sensitive to "early closes."
If you are trying to manage a sophisticated portfolio that involves Treasury yields or corporate bonds, you need to be done with your business by Wednesday at noon. If you wait until Wednesday afternoon, you’re basically screaming into a void.
Real-World Survival Tips for Thanksgiving Trading
If you’re obsessed with the question is stock market open thanksgiving, you’re probably looking for an edge or worried about a position. Here is how you actually handle this like a pro:
- Check your margins: If you’re trading on margin, remember that interest still accrues even when the market is closed. It’s not a lot for one day, but it’s there.
- Watch the Wednesday close: The "Wednesday before" is often a "window dressing" day. Fund managers might tweak things before they head out for the weekend. Expect some weird price action in the final 30 minutes.
- Low Liquidity Warning: Do not—and I mean do not—place large market orders on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Because there are fewer people trading, the "spread" (the difference between what a buyer wants to pay and what a seller wants to get) can widen significantly. You might get "slipped," meaning you pay way more than you intended just because nobody was there to sell it to you at a fair price.
- The "Monday Morning" Reality Check: Whatever happens on Friday is often a lie. Traders call it a "fake-out." Real price discovery usually waits until the full "pro" crowd returns on Monday morning.
Is Stock Market Open Thanksgiving? The Final Word
Basically, no. Give it a rest.
The NYSE, Nasdaq, and OTC markets are all dark. Use the time to do anything else. Read a book, talk to your family, or maybe research companies for the upcoming year. The market will be there on Friday morning at 9:30 AM ET, ready to take your money or make you rich, just like always.
The most important thing to remember is that 1:00 PM ET Friday deadline. If you have moves to make, you have a very narrow window to get them done before the weekend hits and everyone shifts their focus to Cyber Monday.
Actionable Next Steps
- Audit your open positions by Tuesday night. Decide if you want to hold through a period of low liquidity.
- Set price alerts for your key stocks. Since you won't be watching the ticker on Thursday, let your phone do the work in case some global news breaks.
- Review the 2026 holiday calendar. Thanksgiving isn't the only time this happens. Christmas and New Year's Day follow the same "closed" rule, often with their own weird "early close" schedules depending on which day of the week they fall.
- Check your broker's specific rules. While the exchanges close at 1:00 PM on Friday, some retail brokers might have different cut-off times for specific types of orders or customer service availability.