Is the stock market open on Labor Day? The answer to this question is no. The stock market will be closed Monday, September 2, for the Labor Day holiday. Bond traders will get an extended weekend too, with the bond market also closed on Monday.
Unlike some market holidays, however, there are no early hours ahead of Labor Day. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq Stock Market and bond market all have regular trading hours on Friday, August 30.
The long holiday weekend follows an impressive finish for the stock market in August, particularly after its turbulent start. Remember at the beginning of the month, stocks sold off sharply on the collapse of the yen carry trade. However, as of this writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1% for the month to date, while the Nasdaq Composite is 0.9% higher and the S&P 500 has gained 1.9%.
But markets may not be out of the woods just yet. To be sure, September has historically been one of the worst months for the stock market. Since 1924, the S&P 500 has averaged a September loss of 1.2%, according to Yardeni Research, the worst of any month.
Given this backdrop, investors may want to consider low-volatility stocks or low-volatility ETFs (exchange-traded funds) to hedge against potential market uncertainty. Indeed, low-volatility strategies outperformed the broader market in the trailing one-month period ending August 22, says CFRA Research analyst Aniket Ullal.
Ullal warns that rate cuts from the Federal Reserve could be a longer-term headwind for low-volatility strategies, though. "In theory, lower rates should benefit growth-oriented sectors like technology and communication services rather than defensive sectors that are predominant" in many low-volatility ETFs, he adds.
Meanwhile, for those wondering what time does the market open for regular trading hours, both the Nasdaq Stock Market and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) run from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern time Monday through Friday.
Are banks open on Labor Day? The answer to that question is no. Monday, September 2, is one of several bank holidays in 2024, and so banks will also be closed.
Below, we feature a full schedule of all stock market and bond market holidays for 2024.
2024 stock market holidays
2024 bond market holidays
* This is the recommended bond market holiday schedule from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). This schedule is subject to change.
