# Trading days in 2026

> There are 251 trading days in 2026 on the NYSE and Nasdaq: 261 weekdays minus 10 exchange holidays. 2027 also has 251. A typical year has about 252 — 260 to 262 weekdays less 9 or 10 holidays — which is why 252 is the standard number used to annualise daily returns and volatility.

**Source:** https://propfirmpal.com/trading-days-2026  
**Generated:** 2026-09-25  
**Publisher:** Prop Firm Pal — independent prop firm comparison

_Prop Firm Pal earns affiliate commission from some listed firms. This is disclosed on-site and does not affect the computed ranking order._

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## Trading days by month

| Month | 2026 trading days | 2027 trading days |
| --- | --- | --- |
| January | 20 | 19 |
| February | 19 | 19 |
| March | 22 | 22 |
| April | 21 | 22 |
| May | 20 | 20 |
| June | 21 | 21 |
| July | 22 | 21 |
| August | 21 | 22 |
| September | 21 | 21 |
| October | 22 | 21 |
| November | 20 | 21 |
| December | 22 | 22 |

## How the count works

| Year | Calendar days | Weekend days | Weekdays | Holidays | Trading days | Early closes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | 365 | 104 | 261 | 10 | 251 | 2 |
| 2027 | 365 | 104 | 261 | 10 | 251 | 1 |

_Counted from [NYSE Holidays & Trading Hours](https://www.nyse.com/markets/hours-calendars), read 2026-09-24._

## Trading days in a prop firm challenge

A 30-day evaluation bought on Thursday, October 1, 2026 runs to Friday, October 30, 2026 and contains 22 US stock market trading days. This counts exchange sessions, not a firm's "minimum trading days", which counts days you place a trade.

| Window start | Window end | Trading days |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-01-01 | 2026-01-30 | 20 |
| 2026-02-01 | 2026-03-02 | 20 |
| 2026-03-01 | 2026-03-30 | 21 |
| 2026-04-01 | 2026-04-30 | 21 |
| 2026-05-01 | 2026-05-30 | 20 |
| 2026-06-01 | 2026-06-30 | 21 |
| 2026-07-01 | 2026-07-30 | 21 |
| 2026-08-01 | 2026-08-30 | 20 |
| 2026-09-01 | 2026-09-30 | 21 |
| 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-30 | 22 |
| 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-30 | 20 |
| 2026-12-01 | 2026-12-30 | 21 |

## Frequently asked questions

### How many trading days are in a year?

About 252. The exact number depends on how the weekends and holidays fall: 2026 has 251 NYSE trading days and 2027 has 251. Since Juneteenth became a market holiday in 2022, most years land between 250 and 252.

### How many trading days are in a month?

Usually 20 to 22. In 2026 the range is 19 (February) to 22, an average of 20.9.

### Why is 252 used for annualising returns?

Because it is the long-run average number of US trading days in a year. Daily volatility is annualised by multiplying by the square root of 252, and a daily return is compounded over 252 periods. It is a convention, not the count for any particular year.

### How many trading days are in a week?

Five — Monday to Friday — except in a week with a market holiday, which has four. Stocks do not trade on weekends.

### Does a prop firm “minimum trading days” rule use this count?

No. A minimum-trading-days rule counts the days on which you actually place a trade, and each firm defines what qualifies. The exchange calendar only tells you how many sessions are available inside a challenge window.

### Do forex and futures have the same number of trading days?

No. Forex trades Sunday evening to Friday evening through US stock market holidays, and CME futures trade shortened sessions on most of them. The 251 figure is for US stocks; a forex or futures account usually has more sessions available.

## Related pages

- [Stock market holidays 2026 (NYSE & Nasdaq)](https://propfirmpal.com/stock-market-holidays-2026) — markdown: https://propfirmpal.com/stock-market-holidays-2026.md
- [Forex market hours: which sessions are open now](https://propfirmpal.com/forex-market-hours) — markdown: https://propfirmpal.com/forex-market-hours.md
- [CME futures holiday schedule 2026](https://propfirmpal.com/futures/holiday-calendar-2026) — markdown: https://propfirmpal.com/futures/holiday-calendar-2026.md
- [Futures market hours: open now?](https://propfirmpal.com/futures/market-hours) — markdown: https://propfirmpal.com/futures/market-hours.md
- [Prop firm guides & trading reference](https://propfirmpal.com/learn)
- [Stock prop firms compared](https://propfirmpal.com/stocks)
- [Futures prop firms compared](https://propfirmpal.com/futures)