Black Friday Investing: Unveiling U.S. Stock Market Hours and Insights

Traders who are actively engaged in the market might have to postpone their Black Friday shopping plans until after the markets close. While employees in many non-retail sectors enjoy a four-day weekend by taking off on Black Friday, financial markets will be open for a shortened trading day following Thanksgiving.

Major U.S. stock exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, are slated to conclude equity trading at 1 p.m. Eastern on Friday, while bond traders will wrap up even earlier at 2 p.m., as per the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Sifma).

Thanksgiving week typically experiences light trading volume, potentially leading to more volatile market conditions. Historical data from as far back as 1950 indicates that, despite the shortened trading hours, the S&P 500 has, on average, moved by plus or minus 1.5% during Thanksgiving week—similar to the average of 1.6% for all five-day trading periods, according to E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

U.S. stocks have demonstrated a robust rally in November, with the S&P 500 index exiting correction territory on Monday, finishing just under 1% away from its 2023 closing high set on July 31. Month-to-date performance shows the S&P 500 up 8.7% through Wednesday’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallying 6.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite experiencing an approximately 11% jump.