Hong Kong Stock Market Trading Hours Complete Guide: Understand Opening, Closing, and Market Holidays in 2025

Want to make money in the Hong Kong stock market? Then you first need to understand the Hong Kong Stock Trading Hours and rules. Unlike the single opening and closing times of A-shares, Hong Kong stock trading sessions are much more complex, especially with various patterns before opening and after closing. Today, we will clarify the trading hours and market holiday arrangements for HKEX in 2025.

Core Overview of Hong Kong Stock Trading Hours

HKEX’s regular trading days are scheduled as follows:

Important Tips: HK stocks have no price limit up or down, trading currencies include HKD, USD, RMB; settlement date for sales is T+3; manual brokerage fee is 0.5%~1%, electronic is 0.25%~1%.

The Secrets of the Pre-market Session: 9:00~9:30

Many investors overlook the pre-market auction period, which actually contains many trading opportunities. HKEX’s pre-market auction is divided into four segments:

Segment 1: 9:00-9:15 Input Buy/Sell Orders
Only auction orders and limit auction orders can be entered at this time. Existing orders can be modified or canceled. This is a good time to jump in early, as market news from the previous night prompts investors to place orders first.

Segment 2: 9:15-9:20 Pre-auction Matching Period
The system begins accepting auction orders and limit auction orders, but their prices must fall within the highest buy and lowest sell prices recorded at 9:15. Orders entered before this cannot be canceled or modified, and the market begins to form a consensus price range.

Segment 3: 9:20-9:22 Matching Period
Entering, modifying, or canceling orders is prohibited. The system performs random matching and automatic pairing of buy and sell orders. This is a critical point where accumulated orders are matched and executed.

Segment 4: 9:22-9:30 Pause Period
All buy/sell orders and trading activities are paused, awaiting the start of the regular trading session.

The core logic of the pre-market period is to calculate a reference equilibrium price based on investor input prices, then perform automatic matching. If a reference price cannot be determined, no automatic order matching occurs for the day.

Hidden Play After Market Close: 16:00~16:08 or 16:10

The post-close period operates in reverse order to the pre-market, divided into four segments:

Step 1: 16:00-16:01 Calculate and Announce Reference Price
HKEX calculates and announces the reference price based on the last minute of continuous trading data.

Step 2: 16:01-16:06 Input Orders
Investors can place, cancel, or modify orders. The prices must be within ±5% of the reference price.

Step 3: 16:06-16:08 No Cancellation Allowed
Orders can only be placed; cancellations or modifications are prohibited. The market enters a stalemate, with orders locked in.

Step 4: 16:08-16:10 Random Market Close
Orders can still be placed but not canceled or modified. The system randomly chooses a moment within these two minutes to close the market, setting the closing price at the price with the highest trading volume. All qualifying orders will be executed at this price.

2025 Hong Kong Stock Market Holidays

Besides regular weekends, HKEX also closes on various public holidays. The 2025 holiday schedule is as follows:

January to March

• Jan 1: New Year’s Day
• Jan 28: Lunar New Year Eve (afternoon close)
• Jan 29-31: Lunar New Year Day 1-3
• Apr 4: Ching Ming Festival

April to June

• Apr 18-19: Good Friday and the following day
• Apr 21: Easter Monday
• May 1: Labour Day
• May 5: Buddha’s Birthday

July to September

• Jul 1: Hong Kong SAR Establishment Day

October to December

• Oct 1: National Day
• Oct 7: Mid-Autumn Festival Day after
• Oct 29: Chung Yeung Festival
• Dec 24: Christmas Eve (afternoon close)
• Dec 25-26: Christmas and Boxing Day
• Dec 31: New Year’s Eve (afternoon close)

Special Reminder: On Lunar New Year’s Eve, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve, there are no afternoon trading sessions, nor any extended morning or afternoon sessions.

How to Operate During Trading Hours

Understand T+0 and T+3 Settlement

Hong Kong stocks operate under a T+0 trading system, meaning you can sell the stock on the same day you buy it. However, the actual settlement occurs on T+3, i.e., three trading days after the transaction is confirmed. This difference is crucial for short-term traders, allowing quick entry and exit within the day, but with a time lag in fund settlement.

Choose Strategies Based on Trading Sessions

During the morning and afternoon continuous trading sessions, investors can select stocks based on fundamentals for long-term holding or use technical analysis for short-term swing trading. Hong Kong stocks allow short selling: if you are bearish on a stock, you can borrow it from your broker, sell it on the secondary market, and buy it back after the price drops to profit from the difference.

Alternatives Beyond Direct Stock Buying

Hong Kong stock trading is not limited to buying stocks alone. Investors can also explore:

• Funds and ETFs: Track Hong Kong indices or specific sectors
• Options: Buy call or put options for leverage
• Futures: Trade Hong Kong stock index futures
• CFD Contracts: Offer leverage of 1-200x, enabling small capital to control large positions, and allow short selling without borrowing securities

CFDs have advantages over direct trading on HKEX, such as requiring only margin deposits to trade multiple times the capital, enabling two-way trading and easy shorting, avoiding HKEX’s margin and leverage restrictions. However, leverage amplifies both gains and risks.

Essential Details for Investors: Trading Days and Market Holidays

• Trading Days: HKEX operates Monday to Friday; weekends are off. Investors should plan accordingly.
• Holiday Arrangements: On Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and Lunar New Year Eve, there are no afternoon trading sessions, nor extended morning or afternoon sessions.
• Half-day Trading Rules: If a day is designated as a half-day, the closing auction will be between 12:00 and a random close at 12:08~12:10, with no extended morning or afternoon sessions that day.
• No Morning Trading Days: If there is no morning session scheduled, no extended morning or afternoon trading will occur.

Mastering the trading hours and rules of HKEX is the first step toward successful investing. Investors should plan their trading strategies ahead of time, monitor financial calendars and real-time news, to better grasp market movements and develop suitable trading plans.