Honestly, checking the calendar before you try to place a trade is just good hygiene. You've probably been there—caffeine in hand, monitors glowing, ready to hit "buy" on that dip, only to realize the ticker isn't moving. If you are asking is the us stock market open today, the short answer for Friday, January 16, 2026, is a resounding yes.
Wall Street is wide awake today. Both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq are running on their standard schedules. You can expect the opening bell to ring at 9:30 a.m. ET and the closing bell to wrap things up at 4:00 p.m. ET. But while today is a normal session, there is a massive long weekend looming right around the corner that might mess with your liquidity expectations.
Why Today Matters for the Three-Day Weekend
Most traders are already looking past today toward Monday, January 19. That’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day. On Monday, the markets will be completely dark. No trading. No settlement. Just silence on the floor.
Because of that upcoming closure, today—Friday—tends to behave a little differently. You might see "position squaring," where institutional investors adjust their holdings so they don't have to sweat over market-moving news during the three days the exchange is locked up. It's basically the financial version of making sure the stove is off before you leave for vacation.
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Volatility can sometimes creep in during the final hour of a Friday before a long weekend. Traders call it the "Power Hour." If you're planning to move significant capital, just keep in mind that the bond market often follows its own set of rules, usually governed by SIFMA recommendations. While the stock market is open today, bond traders might start packing up a little earlier than the equity crowd.
Standard Trading Hours and the "Hidden" Sessions
Even though the core answer to is the us stock market open today is yes, the "market" is actually active for way longer than the six and a half hours most people talk about.
If you're using a broker like Charles Schwab, Fidelity, or even Robinhood, you likely have access to extended hours.
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- Pre-Market Trading: This usually kicks off as early as 4:00 a.m. ET. It’s thin, it’s wild, and the spreads—the gap between what someone wants to pay and what someone wants to sell for—can be big enough to drive a truck through.
- Core Session: 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. This is where the real volume lives.
- After-Hours Trading: This runs from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. This is often when companies drop their earnings reports, leading to those massive price swings you see on the news.
Just because you can trade at 5:00 a.m. doesn't always mean you should. Without the high volume of the core session, a small order can move the price of a stock more than it should, which is a quick way to lose money if you aren't careful with limit orders.
The 2026 Holiday Map
To stay ahead of the "closed" sign, you’ve gotta know the 2026 schedule. The exchanges don't just close for the big ones like Christmas; they have a specific list of federal and market-specific holidays.
After today's session and the MLK Day closure on Monday, your next big interruption isn't until February 16 for Presidents' Day. Then you've got Good Friday on April 3. Interestingly, Good Friday is one of those days where the market is closed but the government isn't always, which creates a weird disconnect for economic data releases.
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What Happens if the Market "Breaks" Today?
Sometimes the market stays open, but it stops moving. These are called circuit breakers. If the S&P 500 drops too fast, the NYSE and Nasdaq literally pull the plug for a few minutes to let everyone calm down.
Level 1 and Level 2 breakers trigger a 15-minute halt if the market drops 7% or 13%, respectively. If things go totally off the rails and we hit a 20% drop (Level 3), they shut it down for the rest of the day. It’s rare—think 2020 pandemic vibes—but it’s a rule every trader should know. It’s the exchange's way of saying, "Take a breath, go for a walk, and stop panic-selling."
Actionable Steps for Today's Session
Since the market is open, but a holiday is coming, here is how you should handle your Friday:
- Check your limit orders. If you have "Good 'Til Canceled" (GTC) orders sitting out there, remember they stay active. If some crazy news breaks over the long weekend, your order might fill at a price you no longer like on Tuesday morning.
- Watch the 3:30 p.m. ET window. This is when the "Market on Close" (MOC) imbalances start to hit. Because of the long weekend, the closing auction today could be more aggressive than a typical Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Mind the Bond Market. If you trade ETFs like TLT or AGG, keep an eye on bond yields. The bond market occasionally closes early on Fridays before holiday Mondays, which can leave stock traders flying blind regarding interest rate moves.
- Confirm your broker's specifics. Some smaller fintech apps have different rules for when they allow you to trade on half-days or pre-holiday sessions. Don't assume your app works exactly like the NYSE floor.
Today is a full go. Use the liquidity of the Friday session to get your house in order before the markets go dark for three days.