How Many Trading Days In A Year?
In the United States, there are between 250 and 252 trading days each year.
A trading day is a day when the stock markets are open. The stock markets are open Monday – Friday. To calculate the number of trading days in a year, it is 365 days in 1 year minus weekends and holidays. We have an average of about 10 stock market holidays each year.
What are the Stock Market Exchanges?
The stock market exchanges include the Nasdaq, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the OTC Markets.
Regular Stock Market Trading Hours
Regular Trading Hours: 9:30am – 4pm
Extended Stock Market Trading Hours
Pre-Market: 4am – 9:30am
After-hours: 4pm – 8pm
During pre-market and after-hours trading, most brokers require changing the time-in-force (TIF) on your order to include extended hours. Some brokers like Lightspeed allow all orders to be a “Day+” order, which includes regular and extended hours. However, other brokers require you to change order types between regular hours and extended hours. If your orders are rejected, checking the error message and the time-in-force is a good starting point.
Which day of the week is best for Day Trading?
Historically, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days of the week for day trading. This is based on an analysis of over 20,000 trades over the course of more than 8 years. What I love about tracking my metrics is learning things about my trading I would have never guessed. One of those facts is that I make the most money on Wednesdays and Thursdays. This makes sense because on Mondays, at the beginning of the week, I take it slow. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday, I size up if I’m doing well, I have a great day on Thursday, and then by Friday I’m ready to scale back as we come to the end of the week. It’s almost like the performance of somebody in a race. Slow and steady out of the gates, get my stride in the middle, then finish strong without taking big risks.
What is the Best Time of the Year to Trade?
I have historically made the most money in Q3 and Q4. From October through March is my most profitable time of the year. I don’t consider the market to be seasonal, but I have found that summer tends to be slower. In general, I consider the market to be cyclical. We have hot cycles and cold cycles. Those cycles do not necessarily correlate to the time of the year.
What is the 80/20 Rule of Trading
In trading, I’ve found that 80% of my profit comes from just 20% of my trading days. This presents a real challenge when planning vacations! We only have approximately 252 trading days a year, but just 50 of them will generate most of my profits. Since I’ve learned I make the most money trading on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I try to avoid missing those days whenever possible. Instead, I take long weekends by taking the day off on Mondays or Fridays.
The reality of trading is that the market is cyclical. We have hot cycles and we have cold cycles. When it’s cold it can feel like it will never get hot again, but then instantly one stock with great news goes up 100% and the market feels hot. I find that my biggest green days are typically clustered together, and my biggest red days are too.
What is the 20/5 Rule of Day Trading
2023 Stock Market Holidays
-
- Monday, Jan. 16 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Monday, Feb. 20 — Presidents’ Day
- Friday, April 7 — Good Friday
- Monday, May 29 — Memorial Day
- Monday, June 19 — Juneteenth
- Tuesday, July 4 — Independence Day
- Monday, Sept. 4 — Labor Day
- Thursday, Nov. 23 — Thanksgiving Day
- Monday, Dec. 25 — Christmas Day
2024 Stock Market Holidays
-
- January 1 New Year’s Day
- January 15 Martin Luther King Day
- February 19 President’s Day
- March 29 Good Friday
- May 27 Memorial Day
- June 19 Juneteenth
- July 4 Independence Day
- September 2 Labor Day
- November 28 Thanksgiving Day
- December 25 Christmas Day
How many trading days in 2023?
In 2023, there will be 252 trading days.
How many trading days in 2024?
In 2024, there will be 251 trading days.
How many trading days in 2025?
In 2025, there will be 250 trading days.