How fresh the data is, delays, market hours and live updates
On this page
Finance is built to be useful for looking things up, not for trading. Prices on it may be delayed by up to 15 minutes, some figures change only once a day or once a month, and every page says so. This article explains what that means in practice.
#Prices may be delayed
Every price carries a notice. On a stock's page it sits in the time line under the price: May be delayed up to 15 min. Under tables and cards a note reads Prices may be delayed up to 15 min. Some exchanges outside the United States report later, and where one does, the note under the table says the longer delay, for example up to 20 minutes.
Finance does not offer real-time prices. A price shown is the latest one Finance has, which can be up to 15 minutes old.
#What the time line says
Under the price on a stock's page you see At close and a time, or As of and a time. At close means the market is closed and the price is from the close. As of means the market is trading, or the instrument trades around the clock, and the time is the latest update. Times are in the exchange's own time zone, with its abbreviation, such as EDT.
#Market sessions
U.S. stocks trade in three sessions. The regular session is the normal trading day. Pre-market comes before it and After-hours after it (more), with fewer trades. On a stock's page, Pre-market or After hours appears under the price when there is a price from those sessions, and the chart shades them on the 1D range.
The label on the Finance overview says whether U.S. markets are open, in pre-market or after-hours trading, or closed. It is worked out from the S&P 500. On weekends and holidays everything shows the last session.
Coins trade around the clock, and currencies trade almost continuously on weekdays. Their pages say As of, and their prices keep moving when stock markets are shut. Futures, such as oil and gold, trade for most of the day on weekdays.
#Live updates on the page
While a Finance page is open and its tab is showing:
- Prices, changes, range markers and the last point of a day chart update by themselves. A price flashes green when it rises and red when it falls.
- Small charts, the movers lists and a topic's news are re-read every few minutes while U.S. markets trade.
- While the market is closed, the page checks far less often, because there is little to change.
Updates stop when the tab is hidden, and pause after you have been away for a while. A notice, Live prices paused while you were away, appears with a Resume button; the page also resumes when you move, scroll or press a key. Refreshing the page always shows the latest figures.
A price that updates is still a delayed price. Refreshing does not make it real-time.
#How fresh the other figures are
| What | How often it changes |
|---|---|
| Prices and charts | As above, up to 15 minutes behind |
| Key statistics such as P/E and market cap | They follow the price and the company's latest report |
| Analyst ratings and estimates | When analysts change them |
| Financial statements and filings | When the company files |
| News, coverage counts and sentiment | Throughout the day, from the 4Search news index |
| Leaderboard counts | The lists are read every few minutes while U.S. markets trade; fund and short-interest lists daily |
| Top stocks | Several times a day |
| Fund holdings | Daily, from the fund company's file; the card says the date |
| Economic figures | When the agencies publish, usually monthly |
| Prediction-market odds | Every few minutes; the page says how long ago |
#Common questions
Why is the price different from my broker's?
Finance may be up to 15 minutes behind, and brokers show the live price. Check the time under the price on Finance.
Why did the price stop moving?
The market may be closed, or the page may have paused after you were away. Look for the Resume button, or reload the page.
Why do I see a price for a company on a weekend?
It is the price from the last trading session. The time line says when.
Why is the overview's time earlier than now?
It shows the time of the latest data it has, in the exchange's time zone, not your local time.