Getty Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, on July 29, 2021.
Happy Labor Day! If you are an investor, you are probably wondering whether the stock market is closed on Labor Day. The NYSE, NASDAQ and other financial markets will observe the holiday and close its trading hours Monday, September 6, 2021.
Market Watch reported the three-day weekend comes after a “mostly spectacular run” that far exceeded expectations. However, job creation fell much lower than expectations in August, Market Watch reported, indicating that the economy has yet to recover from the pandemic.
Here’s what you need to know:
Concerns Over COVID-19 & Financial Policies Were Mitigated By Strong Market Results Leading Up to Labor Day
U.S. financial markets will be closed for Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 6, marking a three-day weekend in the U.S., following what has been a mostly spectacular run for the stock market.
Market Watch described the period leading up to the Labor Day weekend as a “rally,” saying that concerns over the pandemic, including the delta variant and uncertainty over the rollback of Federal Reserve policies established in the early days of the pandemic, had less of an effect than expected.
“The rally came despite concerns about the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus and unease about the timetable for an eventual rollback of easy-money policies implemented by the Federal Reserve at the onset of the pandemic last year,” Market Watch reported.
The holiday weekend, historically, has often marked the end of a bull market stretch, Market Watch reported. That period tends to last from Memorial Day to Labor Day, according to Dow Jones market data reviewed by Market Watch.
“The Dow, for example, is up by about 2% over that period and averages a gain of 1.3%, producing a winning record 65% of the time. The Dow is currently enjoying a win streak, over the past six Memorial Day/Labor Day periods, representing the longest win streak since 1989. Last year, the markets gained nearly 15% over that time,” Market Watch reported.
Despite the positive turn in the stock market, Market Watch also noted that job creation is far lower than projections. Market Watch reviewed a Labor Department employment report, which said there were 235,000 jobs created in August. That number is far lower than expectations set at 700,000 jobs, the article said.
“However, the Labor Department’s employment report, which showed that 235,000 jobs were created in August, far below expectations for more than 700,000, failed to dull expectations among sovereign debt investors for a near-term announcement of tapering of the Fed’s $120 billion in monthly purchases in Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities,” Market Watch wrote.
The New York Stock Exchange Observes All Major Holidays & Closes or Reduces Trading Hours
The New York Stock Exchange lists the holidays it observes on its website, which includes all major holidays. For the remainder of 2021, it lists holidays including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
On Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 25, 2021, NYSE will close early at 1 p.m. Trading hours will also end early on Friday, November 26, 2021, the day after Thanksgiving.
Christmas falls on a Saturday in 2021, so the NYSE will observe the holiday on Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24, the website says. If you’re planning for the future, the website lists its holiday hours through 2023.
The regular trading hours for NYSE and Nasdaq Stock Market are from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays, according to Kiplinger. On early closure days, stock markets close at 1 p.m. and bond markets close at 2 p.m.
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