Trading Hours on December 26: A Holiday Schedule Check

Wall Street is open for business on December 26, 2025. The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq will both resume trading after their early closure on Christmas Eve. This means the usual trading hours will apply, with the bond market also operating on a normal schedule after its own early close on the holiday.

The next scheduled market closure is New Year's Day, January 1, 2026. The U.S. bond market will close early on New Year's Eve, with trading ending at 2 p.m. ET, while the NYSE and Nasdaq will close at their regular time that day. For investors, December 26 marks the return to a full trading session after the holiday break, setting the stage for the final stretch of the year.

Holiday Closures: The Christmas Schedule

The U.S. financial calendar for the 2025 holiday season features a standard early closure on Christmas Eve, followed by a full day of rest on Christmas Day. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will both close early at 1:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 24, with their late trading sessions ending at 5:00 p.m. The U.S. bond market follows a similar pattern, closing early at 2:00 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve and remaining closed on Thursday, December 25.

This schedule is part of a broader pattern of early closures and full holidays. The holiday schedule for 2025 includes early closures on New Year's Eve (December 31) and full closures on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The bond market also observes an early close on New Year's Eve, with markets closing at 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 31. The next scheduled stock market closure after Christmas is on Thursday, January 1, 2026, in observance of the new year.

International Market Implications

December 26, 2025, creates a fragmented global trading environment, with major international exchanges closed for holidays. This closure pattern directly impacts cross-border liquidity and can amplify volatility for assets with international exposure.

The London Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange are both closed on December 26. London observes Boxing Day, while Hong Kong is closed for the first weekday after Christmas Day. This means two of the world's largest financial centers are entirely offline, severing a key node for European and Asian dollar trading. The result is a significant reduction in the global pool of available liquidity, as trading desks in these regions are unable to execute orders or hedge positions.

This fragmentation has a direct consequence for cross-listed assets and global funds. With major exchanges dark, the natural flow of price discovery across time zones breaks down. This can lead to wider bid-ask spreads and increased price volatility for securities that rely on continuous global trading. For investors, it means the risk of execution slippage rises, and the ability to manage risk through international diversification is temporarily impaired.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange follows a similar holiday schedule, closing early on December 26. According to the holiday recommendations, it observes an early close only (3:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time) on that day. While Tokyo remains open for part of the session, its early closure further reduces the window of overlapping trading hours between Asia and Europe, compounding the liquidity crunch.

The bottom line is that December 26 is a day of reduced global market connectivity. The closures in London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo create a vacuum in cross-border trading, which can lead to less efficient price discovery and higher transaction costs. For investors, this environment demands a heightened focus on liquidity management and a tolerance for potential volatility in international assets.