Live status, 2026 calendar and Europe/Madrid timezone
The Madrid Stock Exchange (BME – Bolsas y Mercados Españoles) opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 5:30 PM CET, with no lunch break. BME shares exactly the same time zone as Euronext Paris and Frankfurt (CET/CEST). London is one hour behind.
Its benchmark index is the IBEX 35, which tracks the 35 largest companies listed in Spain.
This page covers everything you need to follow or trade the Spanish market: exact hours, 2026 holidays, auction phases, the make-up of the IBEX 35 and the best liquidity windows.
BME operates in the Europe/Madrid time zone, identical to Europe/Paris: UTC+1 in winter (CET) and UTC+2 in summer (CEST). Unlike the London Stock Exchange, there is no offset to calculate against the rest of continental Europe. London is one hour behind (GMT/BST).
The session runs continuously for eight and a half hours, Monday to Friday.
The Madrid Stock Exchange is operated by BME (Bolsas y Mercados Españoles), which also runs the Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia exchanges. The main market is the Mercado Continuo (SIBE – Sistema de Interconexión Bursátil Español), with MIC code XMAD. BME was acquired by SIX Group (the operator of the Swiss exchange) in 2020, but continues to operate independently under its own brand.
The 8:30 to 9:00 AM pre-auction is an order-accumulation phase with no execution. Participants can enter, amend and cancel orders freely. At 9:00 AM sharp, an algorithm crosses supply and demand to set the official opening price and that of the IBEX 35.
BME follows its own calendar, distinct from Spain’s regional public holidays. In 2026, it is closed on the following days:
| Date | Holiday | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 1 January 2026 | New Year’s Day | Closed |
| Friday 3 April 2026 | Good Friday | Closed |
| Monday 6 April 2026 | Easter Monday | Closed |
| Friday 1 May 2026 | Labour Day | Closed |
| Friday 25 December 2026 | Christmas Day | Closed |
BME closes on fewer days than the Borsa Italiana or XETRA. It stays open for some Spanish holidays such as 12 October (National Day) or 6 January (Epiphany).
Early closes (2:00 PM CET): 24 December and 31 December 2026 are half-day sessions on BME, closing at 2:00 PM. The exchange is open in the morning but the session ends in the early afternoon.
As on the other European venues, IBEX 35 volumes concentrate at the open and during the overlap with Wall Street.
The IBEX 35 is the benchmark index of the Madrid Stock Exchange. It tracks the 35 most liquid stocks listed on BME and is weighted by free-float market capitalisation. It is denominated in euros (EUR).
Several sectors shape the IBEX 35, with banks, energy and utilities at the top:
The sector make-up of the IBEX 35 explains its particular sensitivity to interest rates (the weight of banks) and to energy prices. The index is also correlated with Latin America through the international exposure of Spanish banks.
BME has a few specifics worth knowing before trading Spanish stocks.
Volatility auctions. Rather than a fixed suspension threshold, BME frames each stock with two price ranges: a static range and a dynamic range. If an order threatens to push the price outside these bounds, trading switches to a five-minute volatility auction instead of executing immediately. The mechanism absorbs shocks without freezing the stock entirely.
Financial transaction tax. Since January 2021, Spain levies a 0.2% tax on purchases of shares in Spanish companies with a market cap above €1 billion, which covers most of the IBEX 35. It applies only to purchases and is not unique to Spain (France applies 0.3%, Italy 0.1%). It targets the actual purchase of securities: intraday round-trips and CFDs are in principle not subject to it.
Latin America exposure. This is the real singularity of the Spanish market. Santander and BBVA earn a large share of their results in Brazil, Mexico and South America; Telefónica and Iberdrola are also heavily present there. Trading the IBEX 35 means indirect exposure to the Latin American economy and the region’s currencies, well beyond the Spanish economy.
BME sits within a synchronised European block. At 9:00 AM CET, the following exchanges open simultaneously:
| Exchange | Open | Close | Benchmark | Timezone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇪🇸 BME (Madrid) | 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | IBEX 35 | CET (UTC+1) |
| 🇫🇷 Euronext Paris | 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | CAC 40 | CET (UTC+1) |
| 🇩🇪 XETRA (Frankfurt) | 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | DAX 40 | CET (UTC+1) |
| 🇮🇹 Borsa Italiana | 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | FTSE MIB | CET (UTC+1) |
| 🇬🇧 LSE (London) | 8:00 AM* | 4:30 PM* | FTSE 100 | GMT (UTC+0) |
All the major European exchanges are active at the same time, with no offset. For a European trader, the Spanish session requires no schedule adjustment compared with following the CAC 40 or the DAX.
From 2:30 PM CET, the big US macro releases (employment, inflation) come out and move the IBEX 35. An hour later, at 3:30 PM CET, the NYSE and the Nasdaq open in turn and European volumes pick up. It is often in this late-afternoon window that the sharpest intraday moves occur on the large caps.
To follow the IBEX 35 in real time from Europe, ProRealTime provides access to BME quotes with the historical data needed to backtest Spanish stocks. Try ProRealTime for free.
Monday to Friday, except for the holidays listed above. The widget at the top of this page shows live status.
9:00 AM CET. The pre-auction starts at 8:30 AM, but no trades execute before 9:00 AM. London is one hour behind (8:00 AM GMT).
5:30 PM CET. The closing auction runs between 5:30 and 5:35 PM to set the official IBEX 35 price.
One hour. Madrid is on CET/CEST, London on GMT/BST. 9:00 AM in Madrid = 8:00 AM in London, summer and winter alike.
The IBEX 35 is the benchmark index of the Madrid Stock Exchange. It tracks the 35 most liquid stocks listed on BME, weighted by free float. It is denominated in euros and serves as a barometer of the Spanish economy.
In 2020, SIX Group (the operator of the Swiss exchange) acquired BME for €2.8 billion. BME keeps its brand and independent operations but has been part of the same group as the SIX Swiss Exchange since then.
Banks (Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank) and utilities (Iberdrola, Endesa) make up the majority of the index. Telefónica (telecoms) and Amadeus (travel technology) are also important names.
Yes. Both exchanges close for New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day and Christmas.
Maxime holds two master’s degrees from the SKEMA Business School and FFBC. As founder and editor-in-chief of NewTrading.fr, he writes daily about financial trading.
