Saudi stock market hours: when does Tadawul open and close?

Tadawul trading hours at a glance

The Saudi Exchange says the opening and closing auction end at a random point within 30 seconds after 10:00 a.m. and 3:10 p.m. respectively. Do not rely on submitting an order at the exact second shown in a timetable.

What happens to an order during the auctions?

The opening auction gathers eligible buy and sell orders before continuous trading begins. The exchange then matches orders under its price and time rules and determines an opening price. An order entered at 9:45 a.m. is therefore not an ordinary continuous-session trade at 9:45 a.m.

At 3:00 p.m., the regular session ends and the closing auction begins for eligible securities. Trade at last follows the closing auction. Before sending an order near either boundary, check its price limit, validity period and whether your broker permits amendments or cancellations in that session.

Trade at last uses the closing-auction price. The Exchange permits limit orders there but does not permit market orders or session orders; after 3:20 p.m. it allows cancellation or amendment of existing orders, not new orders. Check the exact session shown by your member before assuming an after-hours button will execute a new share purchase.

A volatility auction can also interrupt continuous matching for an individual security before the normal close. If one share appears paused while the market is open, check its exchange status and order-book notice rather than assuming the whole exchange has closed.

Do ETFs, sukuk and bonds close at the same time?

No. The exchange's published timetable excludes exchange-traded funds (ETFs), sukuk and bonds from the share closing auction and trade-at-last sessions. Its additional negotiated-deal timetable for these instruments starts at 3:00 p.m.; that does not turn it into a normal retail trading session.

A broker app may also show derivatives or a share-price CFD. Those instruments can follow different venue or provider hours. Confirm the exact product and session on the order ticket instead of inferring hours from the word 'Saudi' in the app.

Weekends, Eid and other exchange holidays

Friday and Saturday are the Saudi weekend. The Saudi Exchange also closes for announced official holidays, including Founding Day, National Day and the Eid breaks. The dates and length of the Eid closures are announced for the relevant year; a previous year's calendar is not a trading schedule for this year.

If you are planning a purchase around a holiday or Ramadan, open the exchange's current trading-hours page and market announcements first. Then confirm when your member accepts orders and whether a pending order will remain valid when trading resumes.

A quick check before placing an order

1. Confirm the security is a Tadawul-listed share, REIT, ETF or sukuk rather than a CFD referencing its price.
2. Check today's Saudi Exchange holiday and session announcement in Riyadh time.
3. Read the order type, price limit, validity period and session shown by your market member.
4. If the market is closed, check whether the order will queue, expire or be rejected; save the confirmation.

If you also trade US shares, their opening time in Riyadh changes when New York changes clocks. The Saudi market itself remains on UTC+3 throughout the year.

Riyadh and Dubai clocks for the same Tadawul session

The UAE is one hour ahead of Saudi Arabia throughout the year. These clock conversions do not establish that a UAE-based app gives direct access to Tadawul. Check the exact security and member. A CFD provider may quote a Saudi share at a different time.

Three orders placed near the session boundary

At 9:45 a.m. Riyadh time, an eligible share order is in the opening auction. The screen can show an indicative price, but continuous trading has not started and the final uncrossing price is not fixed. Read your member's rules for changing or cancelling the order before the auction ends.

At 3:05 p.m., an eligible share may be in the closing auction rather than the continuous market. The price on a minute-old chart is not necessarily the final closing price. At about 3:15 p.m., an eligible trade-at-last order uses the closing-auction price; the exchange does not permit a market order in that session. Product exclusions still apply.

At 3:25 p.m., ordinary share orders cannot newly execute in trade at last. A broker may accept a future-dated instruction, allow amendment of an existing order or reject the attempt. Those are broker and order-validity questions, not an extension of today's regular session.

Check a specific date before relying on the table

1. Open the Saudi Exchange's current trading-cycle page and holiday or market announcements for the intended date.
2. Confirm the instrument's board and session: main-market share, Nomu share, ETF, sukuk, bond or derivative.
3. Check the exact order window and expiry in your market member's platform, including an auction or volatility pause.
4. If the date is near Ramadan or Eid, use the current announcement. A previous year's closure is not a calendar for the next year.

This sequence is especially useful for standing orders. An order that appears in an app after the close has not necessarily traded, and its status should be checked again when the relevant session opens.

The market can be open while your order cannot fill

A regular session gives eligible orders an opportunity to match; it does not guarantee a buyer or seller at your chosen price. A limit buy below available offers can remain open throughout the day. A share-specific volatility auction can temporarily replace continuous matching. After a holiday, the first executable price can differ from the last close.

If an order remains pending, check its security status, bid and ask, limit, queue position where available and expiry. Do not keep resubmitting the same order without checking whether the first one is still active. During an auction, displayed indicative prices can move before the uncrossing. At trade at last, only the closing price is available for permitted orders. These details explain apparent 'failed trades' more often than a wrong market-hours table.

A broker app's opening hours can differ from Tadawul

A Saudi Exchange member may let clients prepare an instruction before the official auction and send it when the relevant session allows. Another provider may reject after-hours instructions. An international app may display a Saudi-company CFD with a different dealing timetable. The presence of a live-looking chart says little about direct market access.

Read the product label and execution venue in the order ticket. Then check the broker's cut-off, supported order types and time-in-force. For a Tadawul-listed share, REIT or sukuk, verify the appropriate market member and the product's own exchange session. This keeps the exchange's official hours separate from an intermediary's account features.

Sources and further reading

Primary references checked for this guide. Fees, trading hours and regulatory permissions can change; confirm the current terms before acting.

• Saudi Exchange: Trading Cycle and Times
• Saudi Exchange: Closing Auction and Trade-at-Last
• Saudi Exchange: market FAQs

Related HaseedInvest guide: US stock market hours in UAE and Saudi time.

Risk warning

Market hours are operational information, not a signal to trade. Auctions can produce prices different from the last continuous-session quote. Confirm live notices and order terms with a Saudi Exchange member.