U.S. stock traders are looking forward to a three-day weekend this week as the market will be closed on Monday, February 20, in observance of President's Day/Washington’s Birthday. February 20 is one of only nine stock market holidays in 2017.
The U.S. stock market never closes for holidays more than a single full day at a time. Even for major holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, the market doesn’t shut down for more than one full day.
In other words, there are no four-day weekends on Wall Street.
According to Oliver Pursche, president of Goldberg Financial Services, this rule is all about reducing potential volatility.
“News events can build up quickly, and if the market is closed for days at a time, investors react to it all at once whenever the market does open,” Pursche said back in 2012 when the NYSE made the rare decision to shut down two days in a row following Superstorm Sandy.
Traders can check the calendar below for the full list of 2017 stock market holidays:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 16
Washington’s Birthday, February 20
Good Friday, April 14
Memorial Day, May 29
Independence Day, July 4 (markets close at 1p.m. on July 3)
Labor Day, September 4
Thanksgiving Day, November 25 (markets close at 1 p.m. on November 26)
Christmas, December 25
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