The short answer: 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM Mountain Time
The New York Stock Exchange rings its opening bell at 9:30 AM Eastern. For a trader in Denver, that is 7:30 AM Mountain Time. The closing bell follows at 2:00 PM Mountain Time. That window, 7:30 to 14:00, holds every Monday through Friday except federal holidays.
Someone in Phoenix sees the same numbers on the clock. Phoenix stays on Mountain Standard Time (MST, UTC-7) all year. Denver shifts to Mountain Daylight Time (MDT, UTC-6) in summer. The market does not care. Open and close are fixed to the local clock in each city.
Why 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM MT?
The exchanges set their hours in Eastern Time. The regular session runs 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern. Mountain Time sits 2 hours behind Eastern Time. Subtract two hours and you land on 7:30 AM and 2:00 PM.
The math holds steady. During standard time, Eastern runs UTC-5 and Mountain runs UTC-7. During daylight time, Eastern runs UTC-4 and Mountain runs UTC-6. The gap stays 2 hours. A trader in Calgary, Ciudad Juárez, or Albuquerque sees the same spread.
Pre-market and after-hours action
The regular session is not the whole story.
- Pre-market: Orders can be entered as early as 4:00 AM MT (6:00 AM ET). Execution waits for the 7:30 AM open.
- After-hours: Electronic platforms run until 6:00 PM MT (8:00 PM ET), sometimes later. Liquidity thins out fast after 2:00 PM MT.
Futures and options traders on the CME in Chicago face a slightly different clock. The open-outcry pit starts at 7:20 AM MT and stops at 2:00 PM MT. CME Globex electronic dealing runs nearly 24 hours on weekdays.
Does daylight saving time shift the schedule?
No. The wall-clock times stay put. The market opens at 7:30 AM MT and closes at 2:00 PM MT whether the region is on MST or MDT.
What shifts is the relationship to other global markets. On 15 January 2026, when Mountain Time is on MST, the London Stock Exchange opens at 1:00 AM MT. On 15 July 2026, under MDT, London opens at midnight MT. London moves to British Summer Time on a different calendar than the US shift.
Tokyo follows the same pattern. Under MST, the Tokyo Stock Exchange opens at 6:00 PM MT the previous day. Under MDT, that moves to 5:00 PM MT. Anyone trading international markets must track the seasonal offset change.
What about Arizona?
Arizona, except the Navajo Nation, skips daylight saving time. Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, and Scottsdale all stay on MST (UTC-7) year-round.
In winter, Phoenix and Denver show the same clock. Market hours match. In summer, Phoenix runs 1 hour behind Denver. The market still opens at 7:30 AM local time in Phoenix. But when it is 7:30 AM in Phoenix, it is already 8:30 AM in Denver.
This only bites when you schedule calls across the zone in summer. Never assume everyone in “Mountain Time” shares a clock.
Mountain Time market hours at a glance
| Event | Mountain Time (MST/MDT) | Eastern Time |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-market entry opens | 4:00 AM | 6:00 AM |
| Regular session opens | 7:30 AM | 9:30 AM |
| Regular session closes | 2:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
| After-hours electronic closes | 6:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| CME open-outcry opens | 7:20 AM | 9:20 AM |
| CME open-outcry closes | 2:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
Are stock market hours the same on holidays?
No. The NYSE and NASDAQ close on federal holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. A Saturday holiday closes the exchange on Friday. A Sunday holiday closes it on Monday.
Do Canadian markets in Mountain Time keep the same hours?
Canadian exchanges, like the Toronto Stock Exchange, open at 7:30 AM MT but close at 3:00 PM MT. The TSX closes at 5:00 PM Eastern, one hour later than the NYSE. Traders in Calgary and Edmonton get that extra hour. The TSX also observes Canadian statutory holidays, which differ from the US calendar.
How do I convert Mountain Time market hours to my time zone?
Take the Mountain Time open (7:30 AM) or close (2:00 PM) and add or subtract your offset from Mountain Time.
India runs UTC+5:30. Under MST (UTC-7), the gap is 12 hours 30 minutes. A 7:30 AM MST open equals 8:00 PM IST. Under MDT (UTC-6), the gap shrinks to 11 hours 30 minutes. That same 7:30 AM MDT open hits at 7:00 PM IST.
Is pre-market the same as regular trading?
No. Pre-market lets you place orders, but no trades execute until the 7:30 AM MT open. Pre-market prices can swing hard and often do not predict the opening print. Most retail traders use limit orders in pre-market. Day traders typically wait for the regular session.