What Are the Stock Market Holidays When the Market Is Closed?

The stock market in the United States observes a certain number of holidays. On these days, the market is closed for the day and reopens the next morning at the normal hour, 9:30 Eastern Standard Time.

It's important for anyone involved in the stock market to know which days the market is closed. As a general rule, the following national holidays are observed by the stack market:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Presidents' Day
Good Friday
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Sometimes, the market closes early (usually 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time) on Christmas Eve and the day after Thanksgiving. On rare occasions, the stock market will close in observance of the death of a significant individual; for example, when President Gerald Ford died this year, the stock market closed on the day of his funeral.

Because the majority of these holidays fall on a different day each calendar year, it's important to make note of them each year. Many investor's, brokers, and other with interest in the stock market spend time conducting research on their stocks.

International Markets
If you have an interest in or invest in any of the international markets, you'll find that other countries observe very different holidays than the United States does. Some exceptions to this are New Year's Day and Christmas; the majority of international exchanges are also closed on these days.

The following are closings that affect other commonly-traded markets throughout the world:

China
China observes the following holidays:
January 12 - Lunar New Year's (also observed by Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore)
March 8 - International Women's Working Day
May 1 - Labor Day (also observed by Austria, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Thailand)
June 1 - Children's Day
August 1 - Army Day

Japan
Japan, another large market on the exchange, observes the following holidays:
January 2 - Day after New Year's
January 14 - Coming of Age Day
March 21 - Vernal Equinox Day
April 29 - Greenery Day
May 3 - Constitution Memorial Day
May 6 - May Day
September 16 - Respect for the Aged Day
September 23 - Autumn Equinox Day
December 23 - Emperor's Holiday
December 31 - New Year's Eve

Other important dates that are observed on the international exchanges include:
April 18 - Good Friday (observed in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK)
April 21 - Easter Monday (observed in Australia, Austria,Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK)
December 24 - Christmas Eve (observed in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden)
December 26 - Boxing Day (observed in Boxing Day Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the UK)

The stock exchange in the US is typically open more days out of the year than any other country.