diff --git a/web/src/components/layout/Header.dom.test.tsx b/web/src/components/layout/Header.dom.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1aa471
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/components/layout/Header.dom.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { act, render } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { MemoryRouter } from 'react-router-dom';
+import { AppContext, type AppContextValue } from '../../context/AppContext';
+import { Header } from './Header';
+
+const { fetchMarketIndicesMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  fetchMarketIndicesMock: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../../lib/marketApi', () => ({
+  fetchMarketIndices: (...args: any[]) => fetchMarketIndicesMock(...args),
+}));
+
+const appContext: AppContextValue = {
+  botState: {
+    settings: {},
+    symbols: {},
+    health: {},
+    alerts: [],
+    positions: [],
+    orders: [],
+    history: [],
+    uptime: 0,
+  } as any,
+  socket: null,
+  connected: true,
+  activeSymbol: 'AAPL',
+  setActiveSymbol: vi.fn(),
+  isAdmin: false,
+  user: { id: 'u1' },
+  profile: {},
+  showBacktestTab: false,
+  showMarketplaceTab: false,
+  handleSignOut: vi.fn(),
+};
+
+function setVisibilityState(value: DocumentVisibilityState) {
+  Object.defineProperty(document, 'visibilityState', {
+    configurable: true,
+    value,
+  });
+}
+
+function renderHeader() {
+  return render(
+    <AppContext.Provider value={appContext}>
+      <MemoryRouter>
+        <Header />
+      </MemoryRouter>
+    </AppContext.Provider>,
+  );
+}
+
+describe('Header market index polling', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    fetchMarketIndicesMock.mockReset();
+    fetchMarketIndicesMock.mockResolvedValue([]);
+    setVisibilityState('visible');
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+    setVisibilityState('visible');
+  });
+
+  it('pauses index polling while the document is hidden and resumes when visible', async () => {
+    setVisibilityState('hidden');
+    renderHeader();
+
+    expect(fetchMarketIndicesMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(60_000);
+    });
+    expect(fetchMarketIndicesMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+    setVisibilityState('visible');
+    act(() => {
+      document.dispatchEvent(new Event('visibilitychange'));
+    });
+    expect(fetchMarketIndicesMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    act(() => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(60_000);
+    });
+    expect(fetchMarketIndicesMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/web/src/components/layout/Header.tsx b/web/src/components/layout/Header.tsx
index 9eee3d9..29b5413 100644
--- a/web/src/components/layout/Header.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/layout/Header.tsx
@@ -12,16 +12,28 @@ export function Header() {
   const navigate = useNavigate();
   const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
 
-  // Fetch live market indices once on mount, refresh every 60s
+  // Fetch live market indices while visible; hidden tabs should not burn API quota.
   useEffect(() => {
     let cancelled = false;
-    const load = () =>
+    const isVisible = () => typeof document === 'undefined' || document.visibilityState === 'visible';
+    const load = () => {
+      if (!isVisible()) return;
       fetchMarketIndices()
         .then(data => { if (!cancelled) setIndices(data); })
         .catch(() => {/* ignore — keep stale data */});
+    };
+    const handleVisibilityChange = () => {
+      if (isVisible()) load();
+    };
+
     load();
     const interval = setInterval(load, 60_000);
-    return () => { cancelled = true; clearInterval(interval); };
+    document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', handleVisibilityChange);
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+      clearInterval(interval);
+      document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', handleVisibilityChange);
+    };
   }, []);
 
   const handleSearch = (raw: string) => {