Honestly, if you're looking at your phone right now hoping to catch the opening bell, you might want to put the coffee down for a second. Today is Sunday, January 18, 2026. The short answer is no. Is the Dow Jones open today? Not in the way most people mean.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq, where the 30 massive companies that make up the Dow actually live, keep pretty strict banker hours. They are shuttered on weekends. No trading. No frantic shouting on the floor. Just a quiet building in Lower Manhattan.
But wait. There's a little bit of a "kinda" here. While the big exchanges are dark, the world of finance doesn't actually stop just because it's a Sunday.
Is the Dow Jones open today? The Sunday reality
For most of us, "open" means being able to log into an app and buy three shares of Apple or Disney. That's a no-go on Sundays. Standard market hours are 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. Since it's Sunday, those doors are locked tight.
However, if you're seeing numbers moving on a news ticker right now, you're likely looking at Dow Futures.
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Futures are a different beast. They trade on the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) and usually kick off their week on Sunday evenings around 6:00 PM Eastern Time. It’s basically the market’s way of "pre-gaming" the actual opening bell. Big institutional players use this time to react to news that happened over the weekend—like the massive headlines we’re seeing today about potential 25% tariffs on European allies.
So, technically, the "market" starts waking up on Sunday night, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average itself won't officially tick until the main exchanges open.
Why the market is extra quiet this weekend
There’s another layer to why things feel a bit stagnant right now. Tomorrow isn't just a regular Monday. It’s Monday, January 19, 2026, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In the United States, this is a federal holiday. Wall Street takes these very seriously. Both the NYSE and Nasdaq will be fully closed tomorrow. That means we’re actually in the middle of a long three-day weekend.
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Basically, you’ve got a rare stretch where the ticker tape stays still. If you’re asking is the Dow Jones open today, you should also know it won't be open tomorrow either. The next time you’ll see "real" volume and price action on the Dow is Tuesday, January 20, at 9:30 AM ET.
What's actually happening while the Dow is closed?
Just because the Dow isn't "open" doesn't mean nothing is happening. In fact, this specific Sunday is pretty chaotic.
We’re seeing reports from The Guardian and other major outlets about fresh trade tensions. There’s talk of 10% to 25% tariffs on countries like the UK, France, and Germany starting in February. This is the kind of stuff that makes traders sweat on a Sunday afternoon.
- Weekend Markets: Some brokerages (like IG) offer "Weekend Wall Street" trading. This isn't the real Dow; it's a synthetic market where people bet on where they think the Dow will open on Monday or Tuesday. It’s currently indicating a drop of about 0.5% because of the tariff news.
- Crypto and Forex: Unlike the Dow, Bitcoin and Ethereum never sleep. They’re trading right now. Currency markets also start moving on Sunday afternoon as Asian markets (like Tokyo) begin their Monday morning.
- Safe Havens: Gold is currently nudging record highs, trading around $4,625 an ounce. When the Dow is closed and the world feels uncertain, people run to gold.
Real talk: Should you care about Sunday prices?
Most experts, like those at Kiplinger or The Street, will tell you that Sunday night moves are often "head fakes."
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You might see Dow Futures tanking at 7:00 PM on a Sunday, only for the market to open green on Tuesday morning. There’s less liquidity (fewer people trading) on Sundays, so a few big trades can move the price a lot more than they would during the day. It’s noisy. It’s volatile. Honestly, it's usually better for your mental health to just wait for the Tuesday open.
If you’re a long-term investor, a closed market on a Sunday is a blessing. It’s time to step away from the charts.
Actionable steps for the weekend
Since you can't trade the Dow today, here is what you actually should do:
- Check the Calendar: Mark Tuesday, January 20, as your next trading day. Don't wake up tomorrow expecting to buy the dip.
- Monitor the Tariffs: Keep an eye on the news regarding the European trade situation. This is the primary driver of the "Weekend Dow" movement right now.
- Review Your Limit Orders: If you have standing orders to buy or sell, remember they won't trigger until Tuesday morning. If the news has changed your mind, you have plenty of time to cancel or move them before the Tuesday bell.
- Ignore the "Noise": Don't let the Sunday night futures panic you into a decision. Wait for the high-volume trading to start on Tuesday to see where the "smart money" is actually moving.
The Dow is resting. You should probably do the same.