The stock and bond markets in the United States will be closed on Monday, January 18 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, giving traders a short break from what has already been a turbulent year.
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, or Sifma, has recommended that bond markets close for the day, impacting trading in the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y,
The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are also closed for Federal Day.
Meanwhile, in the US commodities markets, there will be no regular transactions or settlements, including for Nymex crude oil and gold traded on Comex.
The holidays come as investors remain on the lookout for rising coronavirus cases, slow vaccine rollout, violence surrounding the presidential transition, high stock values, surging bond yields , etc. Despite this, stocks have made gains since the start of the year: the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
was up 1.3%, the S&P 500 SPX,
had gained 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP,
was 1.7% higher until the close on Thursday.
Monday’s celebration of the life of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. is the first since the murder of George Floyd in May, which sparked weeks of protests in communities across the country. There is an additional resonance for this year’s vacation: Raphael Wornock, currently the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King served, has just been elected Georgia’s first black senator.
The holiday is traditionally observed on the third Monday in January to mark the king’s birthday, January 15, 1929.
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