What Time Does the Options Market Open?
Get essential timing information for options trading. Understand the market's operating schedule, including regular sessions and exceptions.
Understanding when financial markets are open is an important consideration for anyone looking to participate in options trading. The timing of market hours directly impacts the liquidity of options contracts and the ability to execute trades at desired prices. Knowing these schedules helps market participants plan their trading activities and manage potential risks associated with market closures or reduced trading activity.
Standard Trading Hours for Equity Options
The standard trading hours for equity and exchange-traded fund (ETF) options on major U.S. exchanges, such as the CBOE, NYSE Arca, and Nasdaq PHLX, generally align with the regular trading hours of the underlying stock market. For most equity options, the market opens at 9:30 AM Eastern Time (ET) and closes at 4:00 PM ET on weekdays. These hours are consistent across the primary options exchanges.
This synchronization with the underlying stock market is important because an options contract’s price is heavily influenced by its underlying asset. Trading during these core hours typically provides the highest liquidity, leading to tighter bid-ask spreads and efficient price discovery. Orders placed outside of these hours are generally queued and executed once the market reopens, ensuring traders can react to news or price changes in real-time.
Trading Hours for Other Options Types
While most equity options adhere to the 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET schedule, certain types of options can have different or extended trading hours. For example, some broad-based index options, such as those on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) or the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), may trade until 4:15 PM ET each business day. Some exchanges, like Nasdaq PHLX, also offer certain options products that extend until 4:15 PM ET.
Unlike the underlying stock market, which has pre-market and after-hours trading, standard equity options generally do not participate in these extended sessions. Equity option trading is typically confined to regular market hours. This distinction is important for traders accustomed to extended stock trading hours.
Without pre-market or after-hours trading for standard equity options, significant news or price movements in the underlying stock outside of regular hours cannot be acted upon until the next market open. Traders must be aware of these differences.
Market Holidays and Early Closures
The U.S. options market observes all major U.S. stock market holidays, during which trading is entirely closed. These holidays include New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. No options trading occurs on these dates.
In addition to full-day closures, the options market may also experience early closures on specific days. Markets often close early, typically at 1:00 PM ET, on days preceding or following major holidays.
Options traders should consult official calendars published by exchanges like the CBOE or NYSE for accurate information on market holidays and early closures. These resources provide precise schedules to help traders plan activities and manage positions around non-standard trading days.