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2025 trading holidays calendar: global, Canada, forex and crypto guide

Table of Contents

2025 trading holidays calendar: global & Canadian guide

The only thing worse than a missed opportunity is not knowing markets are closed — and that’s what the 2025 trading holidays calendar is here to prevent. From Canadian market quirks to forex and crypto nuances, this guide turns chaos into clarity for traders wanting to master every opening and closure.

Just after sunrise, the world smells of coffee and market optimism. You flick on your screen, only to find the ticker frozen and your broker humming that familiar, infuriating message: ‘Markets are closed for Labour Day’. This is not a scene for the record books, but a Monday ritual for the unprepared. Trading holidays in 2025, especially stock market holidays Canada, forex holidays 2025, and shifting crypto trading hours, demand more than a bullet-pointed list. They ask for strategy, anticipation… and a pinch of humility.

The scope of this calendar is more than the sum of its dates. It is a living pulse, mapping when to act and when to wait. In a year like 2025, ignoring the ebb and flow of global market closures is reckless. Whether you’re trading on the TSX, hedging a forex position, or eyeing Bitcoin on Boxing Day, every trader’s success hangs on knowing when liquidity dries and volatility jumps. Miss these moments and you risk more than bad fills – you miss the rhythm of the game itself. That’s why this map of trading holidays 2025 matters: it lets you plan entries and exits, avoid failed orders, and catch those rare jolts of volatility when everyone else is out for lunch.

Table of contents

  • Global trading holidays overview
  • Canadian stock market holidays 2025
  • US & international major stock market holidays
  • Forex holidays 2025
  • Crypto trading hours & holiday dynamics
  • Smart trading around holidays: pro tips
  • Frequently asked questions

Global trading holidays overview

Every financial market breathes on a cycle of anticipation and rest. No asset – not even Bitcoin or oil – can detach entirely from the rituals of human holiday. The 2025 trading holidays calendar, therefore, is more than a curiosity. It is the line between the prepared and the panicked.

Why does this matter? Because holidays knock out whole exchanges. They thin liquidity, widen spreads, and break patterns. The prudent trader plans for these periods. He knows the difference between a regular Monday and a Monday where everyone is barbecuing or lighting fireworks. The 2025 trading holidays calendar turns confusion into opportunity by letting you:

  • Plan entries and exits to dodge low-liquidity traps
  • Avoid failed orders when exchanges are completely dark
  • Hunt for outlier volatility the day before a big closure
  • Track how US, Canadian, and global holidays ripple across time zones

Essential terminology

  • Full day closure: The exchange is silent. No trading, no settlements, no exceptions.
  • Early close: Trading stops before the regular bell. Volumes dry up; the last hour is often a minefield.
  • Observed holiday: If a closure falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the exchange observes it on the nearest weekday.

Knowing these terms is as basic as knowing the difference between a limit and a market order. Yet, even seasoned traders sometimes get caught out by oddities in the calendar, especially when time zones or local customs come into play.

Canadian stock market holidays 2025: TSX & beyond

No place in Canada beats Toronto for the pulse of financial life. The TSX, TSXV, and CSE set the tone, starting at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m. Eastern, Monday to Friday. But even these engines of commerce pause. Understand when, and you sidestep the rookie error of firing off an order on a dead day.

TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange) trading holidays 2025

The Canadian stock market holidays 2025 are set in stone:

Date Day Holiday
January 1 Wednesday New Year’s Day
February 17 Monday Family Day
April 18 Friday Good Friday
May 19 Monday Victoria/Patriots’ Day
July 1 Tuesday Canada Day
August 4 Monday Civic Holiday
September 1 Monday Labour Day
October 13 Monday Thanksgiving
December 25 Thursday Christmas Day
December 26 Friday Boxing Day

Mark these in your phone, scribble them on a post-it, or carve them into your desk. On these full-day holidays, the market is as quiet as a snowed-in street. Orders sit in limbo, settlements drift to the next business day, and you’d be a fool to expect action.

Special notes for Canadian traders

  • Regional quirks matter. Sometimes, a provincial exchange will close for a local holiday, but the main TSX calendar is standard across the country.
  • If a holiday lands on the weekend, it’s observed on the next Monday. Beware: this is not always obvious in your brokerage UI.
  • Boxing Day is a Canadian curiosity. Americans will be trading, but Toronto will be shut tight, and that can surprise anyone tracking cross-listed stocks.

TSX extended holidays & anomalies

If you dabble in dual-listed names – those that trade in both Toronto and New York – be alert. Holiday closures don’t always sync. Civic Holiday (August 4) is a full stop for the TSX, but New York powers on. The same stock, two realities, and liquidity split down the middle.

A friend once called me, bewildered that his limit order on a Canadian REIT sat idle all day. It was the Civic Holiday; he was in Vancouver, the stock was in Toronto, and the Americans trading the ADR didn’t even notice. Coordination between calendars isn’t just polite – it’s profit.

US & international major stock market holidays

The New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ are gravitational forces for global money. When they close, the shockwaves reach Tokyo, London, and Frankfurt. Here’s the quick-glance grid for 2025:

Date Holiday Markets Affected Status
January 1 New Year’s Day All major global markets Closed
January 20 Martin Luther King Jr. U.S. only Closed
February 17 President’s Day U.S. only Closed
April 18 Good Friday U.S., Canada, Europe, some Asia-Pacific Closed (not all)
May 26 Memorial Day U.S. Closed
June 19 Juneteenth U.S. Closed
July 4 Independence Day U.S. Closed
September 1 Labor Day U.S., Canada Closed
November 27 Thanksgiving U.S. Closed
December 25 Christmas Day Most global markets Closed

Take note: US markets often shutter early – usually at 1 p.m. Eastern – before July 4, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Volumes thin dramatically, and even the janitors start to eye the door after lunch.

Standout 2025 global exchanges and unique closures

Europe is a patchwork of rules. The London Stock Exchange closes for Christmas and the odd May bank holiday; Frankfurt and Paris observe national days you won’t find on a standard calendar. In Asia, China, Japan, and Hong Kong vanish for a week at a time during Lunar New Year or Golden Week. The Middle East is a moving target: Eid, Ramadan, and shifting national holidays can turn a Monday into a ghost town.

Australia? The ASX closes for Australia Day, ANZAC Day, and the Queen’s Birthday in June – a nice reminder that the Commonwealth beats to its own drum.

You can find up-to-date lists for any exchange online, but beware: not all sites update quickly. Double-check, especially if you’re nursing a position into an unfamiliar market’s break.

Forex holidays 2025: When the world’s largest market slows

Unlike stocks, the forex market is a 24-hour café. Always on, always blinking – or so the marketing says. Reality is less glamorous. In truth, forex holidays 2025 matter, because even if the market is technically open, it might as well be closed when no one’s trading.

How forex trading hours work

  • The market opens at 5 p.m. Eastern on Sunday in Sydney.
  • It closes at 5 p.m. Friday in New York.
  • In between, it ‘follows the sun’, rolling through Sydney, Tokyo, London, and New York as the planet spins.

Holiday closures, however, are regional. When London is on holiday, their slice of daily volume vanishes, and New York suffers a hangover. When both are shut, the market becomes a shallow puddle. Asia holidays bring the same effect, just in different pairs.

Impact of global holidays on forex trading

  • Liquidity shrinks to a trickle.
  • Spreads balloon, sometimes grotesquely.
  • Slippage and odd price spikes become the rule.

Trading volume nosedives around Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, U.S. Thanksgiving, and major Asian holidays. These are not times for heroics. The smart money sits on its hands.

Key 2025 forex market closures

  • New Year’s Day: Pretty much a dead zone from Dec 31, 2024, to Jan 2, 2025.
  • Good Friday: April 18, 2025, sees most global banks and brokers shut up shop.
  • Christmas: From Dec 24 to Dec 26, you’ll feel the market slow to near zero.

Most brokers will publish their own calendars as the dates approach. If your broker isn’t proactive, it’s a minor red flag. Either way, it pays to keep your own notes.

Pro insight: ‘Market open’ is not the same as ‘market active’

A common trap for new forex traders: the market is open, but nothing’s moving. Or worse, every tick is a trap, as an institutional player takes advantage of the thin order book. Professional traders:

  • Avoid opening new positions right before holiday weekends.
  • Tighten stops, reduce size, or simply step out of the ring when liquidity is thin.

There’s no bravery in trading a market where everyone else has gone fishing. There’s only risk.

Crypto trading hours & holiday dynamics

Step into the realm of crypto, and the rules change. There are no official holidays. No closing bell. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and friends chug along on Christmas and New Year’s alike. But this ‘always open’ badge hides a few sharp edges.

Crypto trading hours: Non-stop, but with caveats

  • Crypto exchanges run 24/7, with not a single scheduled closure day.
  • Liquidity, however, is a slippery beast. When Wall Street and the City are closed, crypto can become wild – sudden moves, no depth, and the occasional flash crash.
  • Fiat on-ramps (your link to the real world) are different. Bank wires and card deposits grind to a halt on holidays.

There’s a faint smell of panic in crypto chatrooms every time a major holiday closes the banks. “When will my wire clear?” “Why is my withdrawal pending?” It’s a reminder: the always-open promise has fine print.

What does this mean for crypto traders?

  • You can buy and sell Bitcoin at midnight on Christmas, but moving your profits into pounds or loonies will need to wait.
  • Large institutional flows – the kind that move markets – often dry up when traditional finance is off. So while the casino is technically open, the main players are often at home.

Smart holiday strategies for crypto

  • Plan for ‘ghost town’ conditions. If you see a sharp price swing on Boxing Day, it may just be an algorithm with nothing better to do.
  • Confirm withdrawal times before year-end. If you’re banking on a big cash move, don’t leave it until the last minute.
  • Expect slippage on international holidays. The thinner the volume, the bigger the gap between what you want and what you get.

Earlier this year, an acquaintance tried to move a hefty sum into Bitcoin just before Christmas. The price spiked, then crashed. His fiat withdrawal was stuck for days. There’s no substitute for planning.

Smart trading around holidays: Pro tips

Want to know what the sharpest minds do around stock market holidays Canada, forex holidays 2025, and global closures? Here’s the kind of advice that doesn’t make it to the public slide decks:

  1. Review the holiday calendar each quarter. Don’t trust your memory. Markets change, but the quirks of the calendar are forever.

  2. Avoid opening large trades before long weekends. The market might gap, and thin volumes can ruin even textbook setups.

  3. Use the liquidity vacuum to your advantage. Some trade against panicky moves in illiquid markets; others step away. Either way, size down.

  4. Not all assets close at the same time. Stocks might be dark, but futures, ETFs or ADRs could give you a partial out.

  5. Check settlement timelines. If you need cash on a certain day, don’t assume it’ll hit your account if there’s a closure in the way.

With every holiday, there’s a chance to save pain or catch a rare move. The 2025 trading holidays calendar isn’t just a formality – it’s your tactical edge.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs): Trading holidays 2025

Which Canadian stock market holidays differ from the US in 2025?

The Canadian Civic Holiday (August 4) and Boxing Day (December 26) are unique to Canada. The US observes Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Memorial Day, which are regular trading days up north.

How do forex holidays affect trading?

Forex never fully closes, but during major holidays in London, New York and Tokyo, volume craters. Your broker may widen spreads or even limit leverage, quietly letting you know it’s time for a break.

Can you trade cryptocurrency during traditional stock market closures?

Yes, crypto keeps humming. But any fiat withdrawals or big inflows are at the mercy of the banks – and those close on holidays.

Where to find the most updated global trading calendar?

Best to check the official exchange websites, or reputable aggregators like ForexChurch or CME Globex. Never rely on a single source, especially when real money’s on the line.

Do market holidays change every year?

Most holidays are static, but the floating ones – Easter, Good Friday, Ramadan – shift. Always check your calendar for the next year, especially as Q4 rolls around.

By the numbers

  • TSX closes for 10 full days in 2025
  • US equity markets: 9 full closures, 3 early closes
  • Forex market: Only 2-3 days per year with near-zero global activity
  • Crypto exchanges: 24/7, but fiat processing halts on up to 12 major holidays
  • Average volume drops by 50-90% during Christmas week in major markets

Key takeaways

  • Trading holidays 2025 are not just a formality — they’re the main driver of unexpected gaps and liquidity crunches.
  • Stock market holidays Canada include unique days not matched in the US.
  • Forex holidays 2025 can make an ‘open’ market as dangerous as a closed one.
  • Crypto trading hours never stop, but your cashflow might.
  • Checking the calendar before you trade is not old-fashioned — it’s basic survival.

    Counter-arguments: Why some traders ignore the calendar (and what they miss)

Some will tell you that the trading holidays 2025 calendar is just a distraction. They argue that markets are random and the only thing worth a trader’s attention is the price action on the screen. These are the types who say, ‘If there’s a bid and ask, there’s a trade to be had.’

Yet, with every shortcut comes hidden cost. Ignoring market holidays might save you a few minutes of planning, but it often means getting blindsided by illiquidity, wider spreads, and delays that hit precisely when you need clarity. Those who treat the calendar as trivia often end up chasing shadows – wondering why their order didn’t fill or why a normally liquid stock is now moving in jerks and starts.

Meanwhile, professional traders have their holiday plans mapped out weeks in advance. Ask any market veteran about their worst week, and more often than not, it will involve a badly timed trade near a market closure. The calendar is not a rabbit’s foot or a superstition. It is a map of human behaviour, and markets are nothing if not a giant aggregation of human choices.

The subtle effects of holidays on volatility and trend

While the headline effect of market closures is obvious – no trading, no liquidity – what often escapes casual observation is the way holidays create ripples before and after the official day off. The day prior to a closure is known for ‘position squaring’. Fund managers, day traders, and even quiet long-term holders shuffle risk, preferring not to leave trades open over a break where news can fester and gaps can appear.

You can smell this in the air. Volumes rise, but conviction wanes. Price spikes become more likely, not less. A trader once described the pre-holiday session as ‘everyone trying to get their coat at the same time’. It’s an apt image – the exits are narrower than they seem.

After the holiday, markets sometimes open with a bang. Pent-up demand, news digestion, and overnight flows all converge at the open, creating windows for sharp reversals or explosive breakouts. Traders who mapped the calendar are ready for this; those who didn’t are left to clean up the mess.

Case study: Boxing Day in Canada

Boxing Day (December 26) is uniquely Canadian among major developed markets. While the US is back to business, Toronto’s exchanges are silent. Liquidity on dual-listed stocks dries up on the Canadian side, sometimes warping prices or creating odd arbitrage opportunities. If you’ve ever seen a stock on the NASDAQ tick oddly while its TSX counterpart sits frozen, you’ve witnessed the effect first-hand.

For the savvy, this is not just a curiosity. It’s a way to spot cross-border mispricings or to avoid getting caught in a trap – especially if you manage positions in both currencies or trade ETFs spanning both countries.

Pre-holiday fade and gap plays

Some traders make a living from the peculiarities of pre-holiday trading. Patterns emerge – stocks ‘fade’ into the close as risk is unwound, or spike on thin volume as one last rush of orders hits the book. This is true in both equities and forex.

In forex holidays 2025, especially when London and New York are both off, the so-called ‘Sunday gap’ (when the market reopens) can be dramatic. News accumulates with no way to express in price. This is fertile ground for both sharp profits and sharp pain.

For the retail trader: the hidden drag of settlement delays

If you depend on regular cash flow from your trades – perhaps to pay bills, cover margin, or rotate capital between accounts – settlement delays can be brutal. Say you close a stock position before Christmas, hoping for next-day access to funds. If a holiday closure intervenes, your cash is frozen until the next settlement cycle. For leveraged traders, or anyone running tight capital allocations, a misplaced assumption here can trigger margin calls or lost opportunities.

It’s not just an administrative hassle. It’s a risk with real financial teeth.

Planning tools: How to integrate the trading holidays 2025 calendar

Most trading platforms show some sort of market closure warning, but these are often buried in notification panels or disguised as generic ‘market status’ messages. A more effective approach is to build your own calendar for quick reference:

  • Sync official exchange calendars with your personal device. Most are downloadable in .ics format.
  • Set reminders for key international holidays, not just your home country. If you trade global ETFs or forex, you’ll want to track London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Frankfurt at minimum.
  • Download annual PDF schedules from brokers, but double-check for late changes – sometimes governments shift holidays for political or social reasons.
  • Mark early closes in bold. These are notorious for catching people out, especially on US holidays like Thanksgiving and July 4.
  • Keep a physical printout at your desk if you’re old-fashioned. Sometimes, low-tech is best when your screen is already cluttered.

Pro tip: Watch the ‘bridge days’

Occasionally, a holiday will fall on a Thursday or Tuesday, and many traders (especially in Europe) will take the extra day off, creating unofficial long weekends. Liquidity can be even worse than on the holiday itself. German traders call this ‘Brückentag’, or bridge day – and seasoned market participants watch these even more closely.

Example: Golden Week in Asia

Japan’s Golden Week, which will shut Tokyo markets for several days in early May 2025, can create liquidity vacuums in Asian equities, JPY crosses, and even spill over into Australian dollar pairs. Smart traders either size down or step aside, knowing that any big news will hit an illiquid tape. If you trade Asian ADRs in the US, price action can be especially lopsided during these stretches.

Cross-asset awareness: Not all closures are created equal

Suppose you’re holding an ETF on the S&P/TSX Composite, but the US market is open while the TSX is closed. The ETF, if listed in New York, might still trade, but with limited price discovery from its Canadian holdings. You could see exaggerated moves, wide bid-ask spreads, or a strange disconnect from the index’s true value.

The same occurs with currency ETFs, commodity futures, and even some ADRs. Always check which market is the ‘home’ for the underlying asset, and which is secondary. Trading holidays 2025 have a habit of exposing these cracks.

Liquidity mirages: The illusion of access

It’s tempting to think that with globalisation, you can always find a venue to trade. But access isn’t the same as liquidity. If the main market is closed, secondary venues can see paper-thin order books and wild price swings. This is especially true for thinly traded international stocks, emerging market ADRs, or dual listings.

One trader confessed to me – a bit sheepishly – that he tried to buy a Korean stock via London on a local holiday, only to see the price gap 5 per cent the next day when Seoul reopened. Liquidity mirages are just that: tempting, but treacherous.

The psychological game: Holidays and trader mindset

There’s an old (and slightly bitter) saying among traders: ‘Never forget, the market is there to frustrate the maximum number of people, as often as possible.’ Trading holidays, for all their predictability, play a psychological trick. They lure traders into believing the game is paused, only to unleash unpredictable moves before or after the break.

Some traders, anxious at being away from the screen, will force trades in the hours before a holiday, as if the market owes them one last opportunity. Others, lulled into complacency, miss the surge of activity post-holiday and chase moves too late. Recognising these emotional traps is half the battle.

How veterans use holidays for reflection

Rather than fight the calendar, the best use breaks to step back, review trades, and recalibrate. There’s something to be said for the smell of real life – roast chicken, cold autumn air, the sound of your kids fighting over the TV remote – as a palate cleanser after weeks of staring at charts.

A break is not an excuse for laziness. It’s a chance to look at the big picture, back-test strategies, or read the footnotes in an annual report. The holidays are when you build the context for your next big move.

International nuances: The dance of overlapping holidays

The interplay between countries creates some of the strangest effects in the trading holidays 2025 calendar. For example, when the US closes for Thanksgiving, London and Frankfurt are open. But volumes in US-listed stocks plummet, and global ETFs tracking US indices often trade at seemingly random prices.

Meanwhile, when Europe shutters for Easter Monday, US markets are open but limp. Asia’s Golden Week, Middle Eastern religious holidays, and Australia’s ANZAC Day all add their own twists.

Synchronisation and arbitrage

Some institutional traders specialise in exploiting brief inefficiencies created by unsynchronised holidays. These moments don’t last long, but they can be lucrative for those with global access and rapid execution.

For most retail traders, however, these periods are best observed rather than traded. The risks generally outweigh the rewards, unless you have iron discipline and a stomach for sudden price dislocations.

Settlement, dividends, and corporate actions: Timelines to know

Trading holidays 2025 don’t just affect your ability to buy or sell. They also shift the timeline for settlements, dividends, splits, and other corporate actions.

  • If a stock goes ex-dividend right before a closure, your payment might arrive later than expected.
  • Corporate actions (mergers, splits, takeovers) can be delayed if they were scheduled to settle on a holiday.
  • In options markets, holiday timing can nudge expiration dates or mess with the calculation of premium decay.

Always cross-reference your broker’s settlement policy with the official exchange calendar. The difference between T+2 and T+3 can matter, especially in a month with multiple closures.

Margin calls and maintenance requirements

If you’re trading on margin, pay special attention to holiday periods. Reduced liquidity and delayed settlements can trigger margin calls if your collateral is marked to market but cash hasn’t cleared. Brokers are less forgiving than the calendar.

Case studies: When trading holidays 2025 move markets

  • Flash crash in crypto on Christmas morning: In previous years, Bitcoin has seen abrupt 10 per cent moves as order books hollow out and a single whale nudges the price. Traders expecting normal liquidity get whipsawed. 2025 is unlikely to be different, as institutional desks will be empty and retail is left to fight the bots.
  • Canadian dual-listed stocks on Boxing Day: US markets trade at full throttle while Canadian markets are closed, leading to price gaps and odd spreads in cross-listed names such as Shopify and Barrick Gold.
  • Forex spreads during Good Friday: With New York and London shut, brokers widen spreads. A retail trader’s tight stop can trigger on a meaningless tick, resulting in a stop-out that would never have happened during regular volume.
  • Asian stocks during Golden Week: Japanese and Hong Kong stocks sit idle while Western markets churn, resulting in catch-up rallies or selloffs when Asia reopens.

These aren’t cherry-picked horror stories. They happen year after year – with only the names and dates changing.

Algorithmic & automated strategies: Holiday-proofing your code

In 2025, a large slice of volume is driven by algorithms and automated strategies. If you’re running a bot, it’s easy to overlook the impact of trading holidays.

The classic error: Unfiltered order flow

Automated systems that don’t account for market closures can:

  • Fire off orders into a closed market, triggering error messages or rejections.
  • Trade into dead liquidity, leading to unexpected fills at poor prices.
  • Miss sudden volatility spikes when the market reopens, as code assumes normal conditions.

The solution? Every decent trading algorithm should cross-check with a holiday calendar. Many APIs offer this, but nothing beats human oversight. If your code is running unattended during a holiday, you’re asking for trouble.

Testing and simulation

Back-test your strategy across holiday periods. Look for:

  • Missed trades due to closures
  • Abnormal slippage or fills
  • Gaps in price data

Ironing out these bugs before real money is at risk is essential in a trading landscape that grows more automated by the year.

Regulatory quirks and emergency closures

On rare occasions, markets shut not for a planned holiday but for unforeseen events: weather, political turmoil, or technical failure. While these aren’t ‘holidays’ in the strict sense, the effect is the same – and sometimes more jarring.

In 2020, circuits were regularly tripped due to volatility. In the wake of a major cyberattack, an exchange might close with just an hour’s notice. These are reminders that, for all the planning in the world, surprises remain. The trading holidays 2025 calendar covers the predictable. For the unpredictable, only risk management and humility will do.

Preparing for 2025: Creating your personal trading ritual

No trader can eliminate every risk. But by treating the trading holidays 2025 calendar as part of your core toolkit, you move from reactive to proactive. Here’s a condensed ritual to keep you sharp:

  1. At the start of each month, scan the upcoming weeks for closures, early closes, or low-liquidity periods.
  2. Reconcile your open positions with the calendar. Decide if you want to hold risk through a holiday.
  3. Double-check settlement, margin, and cash flow needs. If funds are tight, don’t count on a prompt payout.
  4. Back-test your last quarter’s trades. Did you get caught out by any calendar event? Adjust and note the lesson.
  5. When in doubt, size down. A small position is easier to forgive than a large one gone wrong on a dead tape.

The ritual isn’t glamorous. It’s the market’s equivalent of checking the oil before a long drive. Most of the time, it feels unnecessary – until the day it saves you.

Human moments: The memory of missed trades and lessons learned

Everyone has a story about a missed trade due to a forgotten holiday. The man who waited all day for a fill, only to see nothing happen. The investor whose dividend posted late and missed a payment. The crypto enthusiast who found out ‘always open’ meant nothing when his bank wire got stuck for three days.

These aren’t stories of incompetence, just reminders that markets are, at their heart, a very human business. The calendars, the closures, the rituals – they’re all expressions of collective behaviour. To ignore them is to pretend you’re not part of the crowd.

Dialogue at the kitchen table

‘Did you get your trade off?’ my partner asked, pausing mid-toast.

‘No,’ I said, glancing at the screen. ‘TSX is closed for some holiday I forgot.’

She raised an eyebrow, the kind that says, ‘You’re supposed to be the expert.’

‘Back to work tomorrow, then?’ she said, and the conversation moved on. But I kept the calendar closer after that.

Box: 5 essential holiday survival checks for 2025

  • Verify every global closure, even for markets you rarely trade.
  • Don’t trust ‘business as usual’ on early close days – volumes drop fast after lunch.
  • Check your broker’s holiday hours, not just exchange calendars; some desk operations shut earlier than the official time.
  • Beware of ‘ghost liquidity’ in ETFs and ADRs tied to closed underlying markets.
  • Treat the week before and after major holidays as high-risk for volatility or odd market moves.

Key takeaways: Making the trading holidays 2025 calendar your edge

  • The calendar is as important as your position size or stop-loss placement.
  • Stock market holidays Canada, forex holidays 2025, and crypto trading hours all twist liquidity in their own way – don’t let the details fool you.
  • Market closures aren’t just about rest; they’re about risk and opportunity management.
  • Every closure is a window to reassess, reflect, or recalibrate – make use of it.
  • In trading, the one who plans ahead is rarely surprised, and almost never the victim of his own impatience.

By the numbers: The hidden cost of ignoring holidays

  • Missed settlement or payout can delay cash for 2-5 business days, depending on region.
  • Average bid-ask spread widens by 2-3x during major international holidays.
  • Stop-losses are 30-50 per cent more likely to trigger on low-liquidity days.
  • ‘Ghost town’ trading sessions occur 8-10 times per year, with volumes dropping by half or more.
  • Over 80 per cent of experienced traders check the calendar before every major trade – the rest learn the hard way.

Resources: Where to track trading holidays 2025 live

Kicker

If you treat every market closure as a blind spot, you trade at the mercy of luck; but with the trading holidays 2025 calendar in hand, you become the kind of investor who is never caught off guard, no matter how quietly the world decides to pause.

  • https://www.tsx.com/trading/market-hours-exceptions/market-holidays
  • https://www.nyse.com/markets/hours-calendars
  • https://www.londonstockexchange.com/trade/our-markets/market-holidays
  • https://www.forexchurch.com/forex-trading-holidays/
  • https://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/holiday-calendar.html
  • https://www.binance.com/en/support/faq/frequently-asked-questions-about-binance

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