When it comes to the stock market, you might assume that it stays open 365 days a year. However, that’s not the case. Like a lot of businesses, they have regular operating hours, on top of special closed days throughout the year. In the United States, the stock market operates regularly between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, although there are pre-market trading and after-hours. And, similar to many jobs and industries, there are stock market holidays that are reserved where the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ceases operation or closes early, like Martin Luther King Jr Day, for example.
This is important to know if you plan on buying and selling stocks, bonds and/or have other investments and don’t want to come across any hurdles or delays in the process. Even if you don’t plan on buying or trading, it’s still good to know and understand stock market holidays. You’ll never know when this information could come in handy, right? Maybe it’ll be a Jeopardy question in the future.
Ahead, we break down the difference between stock market holidays and bank holidays and list them out for easy reference. Don’t forget to add them to your calendars!
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Stock market holidays are weekdays when the U.S. stock market is closed, such as on New Year’s Day.
In the case that one of the holidays falls on a weekend, there is typically a weekday closure in observance of the holiday during the week. For example, if the Fourth of July falls on a Saturday, then it’ll likely be closed on Friday.
Stock market holidays are days when the NYSE and NASDAQ are closed or close early. These are recognized as closures that fall outside of the standard weekend closures.
There are a handful of holidays observed by the Federal Reserve, and all U.S. banks typically follow suit. Bank holidays are defined by their respective countries, and in the United States, they don’t always coincide with stock market holidays. In other words, some stock market holidays aren’t recognized as bank holidays, and vice versa.
Bank holidays differ from stock market holidays in a couple of key ways. First, most banks are open on Good Friday (while the stock market is closed), and second, most banks are closed on Indigenous Peoples’ Day/Columbus Day and Veterans’ Day (whereas the stock market is typically open).
As for federal holidays, they’re more closely aligned with bank holidays in terms of the days observed, rather than they are with stock market holidays. Federal holidays are those recognized by the federal government and are days when non-essential federal employees don’t have to report to work. Because they’re the same list as bank holidays, many federal holidays overlap with stock market holidays, although not all of them do.
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In terms of the actual stock market holidays, there are 10 of them in 2026, according to the NYSE calendar. They are spread throughout different months of the year.
If a holiday on this list falls on a weekend, the Friday before is when the stock markets close in observance (for example, July 4 this year is on a Saturday, so the stock markets close on Friday, July 3).
These are the exact dates of the holidays on which the U.S. stock market closes completely:
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New Year’s Day, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026
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Martin Luther King Jr Day, Monday,Jan. 19, 2026
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Washington’s Birthday, Monday,Feb. 16, 2026
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Good Friday, Friday, April 3, 2026
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Memorial Day, Monday,May 25, 2026
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Juneteenth National Independence Day, Friday, June 19, 2026
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Independence Day, Friday, July 3, 2026
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Labor Day, Monday,Sept. 7, 2026
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Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026
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Christmas Day, Friday, Dec. 25, 2026
Some days the stock market closes early, such as Christmas Eve and the day after Thanksgiving, when it closes at 1 p.m. EST.
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The day after Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 27, 2026
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Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2026
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New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2027
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Martin Luther King Jr Day, Jan. 18, 2027
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Washington’s Birthday, Feb. 15, 2027
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Good Friday, March 26, 2027
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Memorial Day, May 31, 2027
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Juneteenth National Independence Day, Friday, June 18, 2027
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Independence Day, Monday, July 5, 2027
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Labor Day, Sept. 6, 2027
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Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25, 2027
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Christmas Day, Friday, Dec. 24, 2027
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This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Life section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.