If like me, you start Googling “UK public holidays” at this time of year, but also like to follow stock market movements, this guide might be useful. My US colleagues are one step ahead of me and have already produced a handy list of the days when the New York Stock Exchange is open and closed next year.
This is a relatively simple exercise because the London Stock Exchange usually follows English* bank holidays, which tend to follow a predictable pattern within the framework of a fluid Easter and occasional “extra” holiday. In 2023 we received an extra bank holiday for the coronation of King Charles and two last year for the Platinum Jubilee and the Queen’s state funeral. In 2024 we get the "standard" eight days, with national variations.
Timewise it’s usually straightforward, with an 8am start and 430pm finish on working days, except on Christmas Eve – or the equivalent last working day, which fell on December 22 this year. Then the market closing process starts at 1230pm, four hours earlier. Again this protocal extends to New Year’s Eve, which this year falls on a Sunday – so December 29, a Friday, sees “festive hours” imposed.
A full list of trading hours can be found on the LSE’s website. One caveat is that the exchange follows English bank holidays, while Scottish and Northern Irish holidays are different. For example, the LSE is open on January 2, a bank holiday in Scotland.
Another big caveat is that bond and currency markets trade at different times too. You can more or less trade currencies 24 hours a day. But this is technically feasible too with stocks, if you rotate from European to US to Asian markets in the daily cycle. That doesn’t leave much time for sleep though, so is probably not recommended.
