Stock trading days – Timing can be everything when it comes to stock trading. Knowing how many stock trading days are in a year are essential for investors who want to implement the best strategies from January first well into December 31. There is a distinct calendar that the financial world adheres to. Even knowing the difference between a stock trading day and a non-stock trading day can affect how you invest. Being aware of what days are counted as stock trading days, and which days are not, can help you plan your trades better, allowing you to maximize the opportunities the market offers. Whether you are an experienced trader or someone simply entering the waters of the market, being aware of when the markets are open can help.
But – most importantly – what are the stock trading days that underlie this rule? Are they simply the standard weekdays of Monday through Friday? Or are there holidays involved, which might impact your strategy? As I share here the basics of how to make stock trading date calculations, as well as some interesting tidbits that can help you think about investing, I’ve tried to keep the math to a minimum. So let’s jump right in!
knowing the number of stock trading days in a year
Although it might sound odd, it’s important to know how many days a year the stock markets are open for trading, even if you are just an investor. Have you ever wondered, during your trip to Europa, which day of the week you would be arriving for Christmas shopping? The Year in Days table will help you inform your family to send more mail on Tuesday, so it’s not accidentally lost in the weekly shuffle.
The standard schedule of stock trading days establishes the checkpoints of investment activity. Knowing when markets are open permits investors to time their analysis and decision-making with precision.
And lastly, being aware of these dates can, at the margin, make you a faster or more nimble responder to market news or events; sometimes, that’s important when it comes to capitalising on short-term trends.
For anyone who trades for a living, a day is a day. The more days, the more opportunities to implement strategies or rebalance your portfolio using real-time information. If you miss a day, you might miss a trading opportunity or miss a market that drops out of nowhere.
Knowledge of trading days of the stock market helps you manage your time more efficiently and thereby you become better at handling the financial challenges.
How to calculate the number of stock trading days in a year
It seems simple enough to take the number of stock trading days per year. After all, isn’t it obvious that the market operates Monday through Friday?
Start with the total number of weekdays in a year (261 will usually do). Then deduct all the holidays that the market is not open.
This specifies 9 major holidays for the S. stock market. The biggest ones include New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving etc.
Note that in a given year one or more bimonthly festivals might gain an extra holiday or two from falling on a weekend.
Keep in mind that you may sometimes want to account for unexpected closures such as snow days or national emergencies (which wouldn’t necessarily count as ‘weekends’), so you will probably want to modify your count slightly for each individual year.
Factors that affect the number of stock trading days
Several elements count in to figure out the number of stock trading days makes the year. One of the aspects for stockexchange to work is national holiday. Each country has its public holidays which may vary from each other unlike even holidays that allow most markets to remain closured for a day.
And third, weekends: most stock-markets are shut down on Saturdays and Sundays, so you can’t trade at that time.
Including seasonal variations – half-days around the end of the year and major holidays or seasonal fluctuations, such as during the summer.
Market restrictions can also hit trading. Regulatory changes, ranging from issues with a provider to a policy, can cause agencies to request more reviews. This might result in more closures.
Everything changes again when sudden natural disasters or geopolitical shocks force the closure of markets, as calendars become similarly disrupted.
The difference between regular and extended stock trading hours
Trading in regular stocks (as opposed to a new form of security, exchange traded funds) occurs Monday through Friday during normal working hours, from 9:30 AM to 4 PM Eastern Time. The market is most active during this time frame – by the end of the day, investors will have responded collectively in real time to breaking news, economic data that affects stock prices, or other events.
Extended trading days are those where the buying and selling usually takes place ahead of or after the normal trading times are over. Pre-market trading times span from 4:00 AM to 9.30 AM. During after-hours trading, trading starts at 4 PM and go on till 8 PM.
Yes, extended hours offer flexibility, but there are tradeoffs. Bid-ask spreads are wider during extended hours, due to lower liquidity. This would tend to increase volatility and make prices less stable.
In addition, investors should be aware that not all stocks are traded during extended hours. They should check the availability for any security before deciding to trade outside the regular schedule.
Holidays and weekends: Do they count as stock trading days?
Holiday and weekend trading are the two factors that influence the number of days that stocks can be traded. Since the stock exchanges do not support trades over the weekend, we can say that Saturday and Sunday are not included in these numbers.
Thus, holidays are different – most stock markets follow the calendar of their country. This means that on national holidays the markets are closed. Likewise, major holidays such as Christmas or Independence Day are non-trading days.
But remember that some markets run off local custom or additional observations, so if a holiday falls on a weekend, for example, some exchanges will usually be closed on the following Monday instead.
The date on which it appears constitutes important information for traders because it can have a decisive impact the trading strategies. Familiarising oneself with this calendar makes it easier for investors to dormant their purchase and sale strategies well in advance.
The impact of global markets on stock trading days
The annual allocation of stock trading days worldwide reflects this system well. Day after day in one part of the world, another trading market around the globe is opening its doors as the day ends.
For example, positions taken by a US-based trader as the NYSE and NASDAQ are buzzing with activity will still impact trading volumes in Asian or European time zones if the season for electronics stocks is up; and turnover will typically trend higher or lower based on activity an ocean away. Market movements may alter the strategy of a local portfolio manager who plays the Dow Jones Industrial Average solely because that market reflects pre-market events in Asia or Europe that impact the local stock.
Further complicating matters are sudden market reactions to unforeseen geopolitical events or economic news coming out of major countries. Markets might need to stay open longer than usual to process these announcements or even shut down operations to mitigate potential risks.
With stock trading days in a year, investors need to be abreast with these dynamics to position themselves right when global happening affects local markets.
How to study stock trading
When you decide to start learning how to trade stocks, you probably don’t want to just sit down and read a bunch of stuff about stocks. There has to be some structure to the way you learn because otherwise it just won’t stick. So start at the beginning: read and learn about stocks, bonds, market ‘indices’ and so on (there are lots of books, online courses and podcasts that cover these topics).
Practice. Practice. That’s the ultimate key. It is easier to learn how to trade while facing no financial risk. Use paper trading platforms to simulate trades in real time, while allowing you to learn the basics.
Keep up with the news. The markets react to economic indicators and world events, so you have to stay informed if you are going to make good choices.
Try to join forums or social media groups for stock trading. Whenever you have some spare time during the day, listen to seasoned, experienced traders. You will pick up useful tips and acquire different points of view on the markets.
Set goals for yourself about what you want to accomplish. Maybe your goal is to become an expert at technical analysis, maybe it is to understand the fundamental metrics behind companies. Whatever it is, having a clear objective you can track the progress towards keeps you moving forward patiently and persistently.
Keep track of your progress. Assessing what is working – and not working – can help you use your time on future study more productively.
Conclusion
Whether you’re an investor or a trader, being aware of how many stock trading days you can expect out of each year can help you set your trading goals, allocating your time and resources appropriately, and anticipate swings within the market. The more you know, the better, and this includes calculating the number of days when you can actively trade, even throughout the year.
Everything from public holidays and weekends to the outbreak of a world war can affect the number of trading days. Beyond this bare accounting, just understanding which hours are business as usual and which represent more of a pitch or window dressing for extended hours can help you maximise your leverage over the days when the market is actually moving.
When browsing your portfolio of stocks, in addition to reading into changes within each company, it’s good to keep your eye on how shifts in global markets can ripples across in expansionary waves, affecting not only local exchanges, but also affecting your participation in the bigger trading game.
To trade in stocks, one studies movements, patterns and trends, combines with the changes that take place in respect of access to stocks each year. Knowledge provides greater options.
You will not become a better trader in stocks if you won’t read everything about it, try to start keeping up with the days and see how your way of doing it will improve from this point. For all the traders that want to maximize their time in trading, you would learn from this article how certain days affect stocks and help you plan your trades during the year.
