Is the Stock Market Open on Christmas Day 2026? LSE Hours
December 25
Is the Stock Market Open on Christmas Day 2026? LSE Hours
London Stock Exchange are closed on Friday, for Christmas Day.
- Next holiday
- Boxing Day
- Regular hours
- 8:00 am to 4:30 pm UK time
Full schedule and background: LSE Holidays.
Updated
The London Stock Exchange is closed on Friday, December 25, 2026 for Christmas Day. This is a full-day closure, meaning no regular trading session takes place on the LSE main market, and this applies to equities, exchange-traded funds and most other listed instruments handled through the exchange’s standard order books. Any orders placed with a broker on Christmas Day will simply queue and be processed when the market reopens. For a full list of upcoming closures, see the LSE holiday calendar.
Because December 25 falls on a Friday in 2026, the LSE will also be closed the following Monday, December 28, for the substitute Boxing Day holiday, extending the break to a long weekend for UK investors. Trading resumes on Tuesday, December 29, 2026.
Which markets are closed on Christmas Day 2026?
| Market | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| London Stock Exchange (equities) | Closed | Full-day closure, no cash equity trading |
| UK Gilts | Closed | Follows LSE holiday schedule |
| ICE Futures Europe (London) | Closed | No trading in UK-listed derivatives |
| New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq | Closed | US markets also observe Christmas Day |
| Euronext (Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels) | Closed | Christmas Day is a shared European holiday |
| Tokyo Stock Exchange | Open (regular hours) | Japan does not observe Christmas as a market holiday |
| Cryptocurrency exchanges | Open | Crypto markets trade 24 hours a day, every day of the year |
Investors holding a globally diversified portfolio should note that while London, New York and most of continental Europe are shut, some Asian markets, including Tokyo, continue to trade on December 25, though many will also be quiet around their own New Year holidays.
Is the market open the day before and after?
The trading day before Christmas, Thursday, December 24, 2026, is a regular full session on the LSE with standard hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm UK time, according to the London Stock Exchange’s official business days schedule. There is no early close scheduled for Christmas Eve 2026 on the LSE main market itself, though some related derivatives markets occasionally shorten their sessions around the festive period, so traders using futures or options should check with their broker.
The next trading day after Christmas is not December 26, as might be expected, but Tuesday, December 29, 2026, because both December 25 and the substitute Boxing Day holiday on December 28 fall on market closures. Anyone placing an order on Christmas Day or over that weekend will see it queue for execution when the market reopens on the 29th.
Why do markets close for Christmas Day?
Christmas Day has been observed as a public holiday in the United Kingdom for centuries, and financial markets have long followed the same closures as banks and other public institutions. The London Stock Exchange, like most major exchanges around the world, treats December 25 as a non-trading day out of respect for the widely observed religious and cultural holiday, and to allow staff, brokers and support services time off.
This pattern is shared internationally. Nearly every major Western exchange, including the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and the Euronext group, closes on Christmas Day, which creates a genuinely quiet 24-hour period for global equity and bond trading, interrupted only by markets in regions that do not mark the holiday, such as much of East Asia.
What It Means for Your Money
If you have a pending trade, it will simply wait in the queue until the exchange reopens on December 29, 2026, so there is no need to resubmit an order. Settlement, the process by which shares and cash actually change hands after a trade, will also be delayed by the closure. Under the standard T+1 settlement cycle now used in many markets, a trade executed on December 24 would normally settle the next business day, but because December 25 and 28 are both holidays, settlement will push out to December 29.
Dividend payment dates and options expiry dates that would ordinarily fall on December 25 are automatically shifted to the next business day by exchanges and registrars, so investors expecting a payout around Christmas should expect it to land slightly later than usual. UK bank transfers and payroll runs due on Christmas Day are typically processed a day or two early or late by banks, since the Bank of England’s payment systems are also closed for the holiday. Mortgage and savings rates are unaffected by the closure itself, though any Bank of England announcements or rate decisions are never scheduled on public holidays. Cryptocurrency markets remain the exception, trading 24 hours a day throughout the festive period with no closures at all.
Remaining LSE holidays in 2026
- Boxing Day (Substitute), December 28, 2026, closed
- New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2026, early close at 12:30 pm UK time
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the stock market open on Christmas Day 2026?
No, the London Stock Exchange and most other major global exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, are closed on Friday, December 25, 2026.
Is the bond market open on Christmas Day?
No, UK gilt trading follows the same closure as the LSE equity market, and US bond markets also observe the holiday.
What time does the market close before Christmas?
On Thursday, December 24, 2026, the LSE trades a full regular session from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm UK time, with no scheduled early close on the main market.
When is the next market holiday after Christmas?
The next LSE holiday after Christmas Day is the substitute Boxing Day holiday on Monday, December 28, 2026, followed by an early close on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2026, at 12:30 pm UK time.
Are UK banks open on Christmas Day?
No, UK banks are closed on Christmas Day and remain closed for the substitute Boxing Day holiday on December 28, 2026, reopening for normal business on December 29.