How Many Trading Days Are There in a Year?

How many trading days in a year depends a lot on which market you are trading. Foreign exchange markets are open for the main pairs for far more days than the US stock market. The most traded forex pair, the EUR/USD, is open for trading for more days than most other pairs.

Whether you are day trading or swing trading, knowing when the financial market of your choice is open is important. Let’s have a look at the main financial markets and how many trading days in a year for each market and when their holidays occur.

How Many Trading Days Are There in a Year for the US Stock Market?

The US stock market has 250 trading days a year for 2023 and 2024. To get an answer to how many trading days in a year for the stock market we looked at the New York Stock Exchange. Which encompasses: NYSE, NYSE Chicago, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, and NYSE Options.

The number of trading days in a year is obtained by subtracting weekends and national holidays observed by the exchange from the total number of days in a year. The NYSE observes the following national holidays for 2023 and 2024:

The number of weekend days equals 105 plus 10 holidays as mentioned above. So, for 2023 and 2024 both years have 365 days, minus 115 non-trading days. This equals 250 trading days.

CME Futures 

The CME group comprises the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, NYMEX, COMEX, and the Kansas City Board of Trade. So, it’s hard to give a precise number of how many trading days in a year. Given all of the markets covered by the group with different schedules.

However, for US Futures and options on commodities, interest rates, and metals we found the total number of trading days in a year is 251. We found this number by subtracting weekend days and observed national holidays from the total number of days in a year.

The national holidays the CME group observes are the following for 2023:

The CME observes 10 national holidays plus 105 weekend days. So subtracting the total of non-trading days, 115, gives 250 trading days a year for this financial market.

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange has 253 trading days a year for 2023. To answer the question, how many trading days in a year for the London Stock Exchange? We took the number of days in a year and subtracted the weekend days and the national holidays observed by the exchange.

The national bank holidays observed by the London Stock Exchange are the following for 2023:

The number of weekend days equals 105 plus 8 holidays as mentioned above. So, the year 2023 has 365 total days minus 113 non-trading days equals 252 trading days in 2023 for the London Stock Exchange.

European Stock Market

The number of trading days in a year for the European stock market is 256. To reach a number for how many trading days in a year we looked at Euronext. The organization oversees the stock exchanges of Milan, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Brussels, Lisbon, and Oslo.

To reach a final number we took the total number of days in a year and subtracted the weekend days and the observed national holidays. Some of the exchanges also observe other holidays, we have taken into consideration only the holidays observed by all exchanges. Euronext observes the following national holidays for 2023:

The Euronext exchanges observe very few national holidays and are closed only for 4 days in 2023, apart from weekends. So, we subtracted a total of 109 non-trading days from 365, this gave us 256 trading days for 2023.

Tokyo Stock Exchange

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has a total of 246 trading days for the year 2023. To determine how many trading days in a year for Asia’s largest stock exchange we subtracted the number of observed holidays and weekend days from the total number of days for the year.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange observes the following national holidays for 2023:

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has 14 national holidays, subtracting that number and the number of weekend days from 365 gives a total of 246 trading days.

Hong Kong Stock Market 

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the 7th largest exchange worldwide and the third largest in the Far East after the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Exchange. The number of trading days for this market is 246.

To reach this number we subtracted weekend days and national holidays from the total number of days in the year 2023. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange observes the following national holidays:

The Hong Kong Exchange observes 14 national holidays. So, subtracting 105 weekend days and 14 holidays gives a total of 246 trading days for 2023.

Forex

The foreign exchange market has a wide number of currency pairs each with its individual holiday calendar. Depending on the countries that are participating in the currency pair. However, forex markets are open generally 5 days a week 52 weeks a year.

Since foreign exchange transactions occur all over the globe and there is no centralized exchange, there is always a marketplace open for any given currency. So, we can say that foreign exchange markets have 260 trading days a year.

What will change is the date a forex trade will settle. For example, if you are trading EUR/USD today the transaction will usually settle two days later. However, if the second day is a bank holiday in the US or the Euro area then the currencies will actually be exchanged on the third day.

Wrapping Up

For every trader, whether you’re trading stocks, bonds, or options, having an understanding of when the financial markets are open is useful. However, you should never go it all alone.

As a retail trader, whatever your market, you can get professional advice and assistance to help refine your trading strategies for the market you follow. You can read our reviews about the top stock picking services here. And you can check out our reviews of the top teachers and mentors here.