What Happens When the Stock Market Closes?

When the stock market closes at 4:00 PM Eastern Time, regular trading stops and the closing prices for every stock are set. These closing prices are the "official" prices you see quoted in news headlines and financial apps.

The closing bell is a real bell at the NYSE — and it's often rung by a celebrity or company CEO as a publicity event. On the NASDAQ, it's more of a ceremony, but the effect is the same: regular trading ends.

The close at 4:00 PM doesn't mean all trading stops. After-hours trading kicks in immediately and runs until 8:00 PM ET. During this time:

• You can still buy and sell stocks, but activity is much lower
• Companies often release earnings reports right after the close, causing big price moves
• Prices you see during after-hours may be quite different from the closing price

If you own stocks, nothing changes in your account when the market closes. Your shares stay right where they are. You still own them — you just can't sell them until the market opens again (unless you use after-hours trading).

The value of your stocks will update at the next market open based on what happened overnight — news, international markets, pre-market trading, etc.

If you placed an order during the day that didn't get filled (maybe you set a price that was never reached), here's what typically happens:

• Day orders expire at the market close. They're automatically canceled.
• Good-til-canceled (GTC) orders stay active and will carry over to the next trading day.
• Extended hours orders may continue through after-hours if your brokerage supports it.

Check your brokerage settings to understand how your specific orders are handled at the close.

Want to know exactly when the market closes? Our live countdown timers show you the time remaining for every major exchange.