When the Markets Pause for Thanksgiving and Black Friday
So, here’s a question a lot of people ask around this time of year: is the stock market actually open during Thanksgiving and Black Friday? With all the excitement of holiday shopping and major sales, it’s easy to forget that the financial world has its own rhythm during this long weekend.
Thanksgiving, which always lands on the fourth Thursday of November, is treated as a full holiday by the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Because it’s a federal holiday, all U.S. stock market activity is completely paused. No trading sessions, no early hours, no after-hours—everything is simply closed for the day. This follows the normal pattern of market closures for the ten major federal holidays observed each year, including Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Labor Day, and Christmas Day.
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Now, it’s worth pointing out that not every part of the financial world shuts down. Cryptocurrency markets operate on a totally different schedule. In fact, they never sleep—literally. Crypto trading platforms move 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. So even on Thanksgiving, traders can buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets without any interruption. That’s one of the big differences between traditional markets and the crypto universe.
But what about the day after Thanksgiving, the day when everyone is out chasing Black Friday deals? Stock markets do reopen, but things run a little differently. On Friday, November 28, 2025, the NYSE and other stock exchanges will open as usual in the morning, but trading will wrap up early. Instead of the normal full-day session, markets will close at noon CT. This shortened schedule has become a tradition for the post-Thanksgiving Friday, giving traders and financial workers a bit of a breather while still allowing some activity to continue.
Other financial markets also make adjustments. Bond markets, for example, usually trade from 8 a.m. ET to 5 p.m. ET, though they may also operate on a modified schedule for the holiday. Commodity futures platforms like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Intercontinental Exchange adjust their trading hours over the Thanksgiving period as well, often observing early closures between November 27 and 29. Because commodity schedules can vary by product, checking the specific timetable for each market is always recommended.
So while the holiday weekend is packed with retail action, the world of trading moves at a slightly slower pace—paused completely on Thanksgiving and shortened on Black Friday. It’s one of those yearly reminders that even fast-moving financial markets take a moment to breathe.
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