Stock Market Holidays 2020 and 2021

What Are Stock Market Holidays?

A so-called market holiday is any non-weekend day that the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, or bond markets close for the day. Usually, that holiday is something like Christmas or New Year’s.

On some holidays, or days close to them, the stock markets remain open, while the bond markets stay closed or close early. Sometimes, the markets close for national days of mourning, as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq did to honor the late President George H.W. Bush in 2018.

If a given holiday happens to take place on Saturday, the Friday before it typically becomes a stock market holiday. Similarly, markets typically close on the following Monday if the holiday lands on a Sunday.

Regular hours for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq go from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET from Monday to Friday. The markets are closed over the weekends.

NYSE Holidays 2021

All New York Stock Exchange markets will observe United States holidays as listed below for 2020 and 2021. For the years 2022 and 2023 NYSE holidays can be found on page NYSE Holidays 2021 2022 and 2023.

Holidays	Year 2020	Year 2021
New Years Day	Wednesday, January 1	Friday, January 1
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day	Monday, January 20	Monday, January 18
Washington’s Birthday	Monday, February 17	Monday, February 15
Good Friday	Friday, April 10	Friday, April 2
Memorial Day	Monday, May 25	Monday, May 31
Independence Day	Friday, July 3 (July 4 holiday observed)	Monday, July 5 (July 4 holiday observed)
Labor Day	Monday, September 7	Monday, September 6
Thanksgiving Day	Thursday, November 26*	Thursday, November 25*
Christmas Day	Friday, December 25**	Friday, December 24 (Christmas holiday observed)

* Each market will close early at 1:00 p.m. (1:15 p.m. for eligible options) on Friday, November 27, 2020, Friday, November 26, 2021, and Friday, November 25, 2022 (the day after Thanksgiving). Crossing Session orders will be accepted beginning at 1:00 p.m. for continuous executions until 1:30 p.m. on these dates, and NYSE American Equities, NYSE Arca Equities, NYSE Chicago, and NYSE National late trading sessions will close at 5:00 pm. All times are Eastern Time.

** Each market will close early at 1:00 p.m. (1:15 p.m. for eligible options) on Thursday, December 24, 2020. Crossing Session orders will be accepted beginning at 1:00 p.m. for continuous executions until 1:30 p.m. on this date, and NYSE American Equities, NYSE Arca Equities, NYSE Chicago, and NYSE National late trading sessions will close at 5:00 pm. All times are Eastern Time.

Things to Remember

Please note that regular trading hours for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq Stock Market are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern on weekdays. The stock markets close at 1 p.m. on early-closure days; bond markets close early at 2 p.m.

When a holiday falls on a weekend, market closures are dictated by two rules:
If the holiday falls on a Saturday, the market will close on the preceding Friday.
If the holiday falls on a Sunday, the market will close on the subsequent Monday.

What is the Stock Market

The stock market refers to the collection of markets and exchanges where the regular activities of buying, selling and issuance of shares of publicly held companies take place. Such financial activities are conducted through institutionalized formal exchanges or over-the-counter (OTC) marketplaces that operate under the defined set of regulations. There can be multiple stock trading venues in a country or a region which allow transactions in stocks and other forms of securities.

While both the terms – stock market and stock exchange – are used interchangeably, the former term is a general super-set of the latter. If one says that he trades in the stock market, it means that he buys and sells shares/equity on one (or more) of the stock exchange(s) that are part of the overall stock market. Leading stock exchanges of the U.S. include the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, BATS and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). These leading national exchanges, along with several other exchanges operating in the country, form the stock market of the U.S.

The main difference between financial market and stock market is that the financial market is where all trades involving financial assets happen. The capital market is where companies and governments go to raise long-term capital. The stock market is where people buy and sell equity in listed corporations.