If you see no movement in your 401(k) or brokerage accounts Friday, it’s not a sign of suddenly perfectly priced assets, as most financial markets globally will take a breather.
Both major U.S. stock exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, are closed for trading Friday.
U.S. Bond markets are also closed, having actually closed early Thursday at 2 p.m. EDT.
The closures are in observance of the Christian holiday Good Friday, ahead of Easter Sunday.
Good Friday holds a unique distinction for financial markets: It’s the only weekday which is not a federal holiday in which bond and stock markets don’t open shop.
Bond markets also close for Columbus Day in October and Veterans Day in November.
The NYSE and Nasdaq’s normal trading hours are Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., while U.S. bond markets are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Stateside bond and stock markets will resume normal trading Monday.
Major exchanges across the world are shut Friday, from Toronto to London to Mumbai. The most notable exceptions are in China and Japan, home to the two largest equity markets in the world outside of the U.S., according to the World Bank. Friday equity market movements in those Asian superpowers were positive, as China’s CSI 300 index gained .01% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1% in trading sessions which wrapped before 5 a.m. EDT. As for markets that will be open during normal U.S. business hours Friday, those are few and far between, though the always-open cryptocurrency market will trade as normal. Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable crypto asset, was flat at just below $85,000 Friday morning.
Most major banks confirmed to USA Today they will open Friday, while post offices will conduct normal operations, as will most federal government agencies. A dozen states – Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Texas, and Tennessee – observe Good Friday as a state holiday, according to the Federal Times, meaning many local government offices will close.
The NYSE observes most federal holidays and closes for New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The stock market closes early at 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve and Black Friday.
When markets reopen Monday, traders will again grapple with significant turbulence as stocks and bonds whipsaw on the latest trade war developments. The benchmark S&P 500 index is down nearly 6% in April, which would be the worst monthly loss since November 2022.
