U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed Monday, June 20, in observance of the Juneteenth holiday which commemorates the end of slavery.
Officially known as the Juneteenth National Independence Day, it became a federal holiday last July after legislation was signed into law by President Joe Biden. The legislation passed the Senate unanimously and cleared the House with an overwhelming majority. It’s the first national holiday created by Congress in nearly four decades.
Juneteenth, which is celebrated annually by many on June 19, is a day marking the end of slavery in the U.S. in 1865. It was on that date that Union Gen. Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation to the people of Galveston, Texas, roughly 2½ years after the proclamation was issued on Jan. 1, 1863.
This year’s Juneteenth falls on a Sunday, so the holiday will be observed on Monday with the U.S. financial markets, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq shutting down.
That means no trading for U.S. stocks and major indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.57%, S&P 500 SPX, -0.40% and Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.19%.
The Security Industry and Financial Markets Association, an industry group whose members include major investment banks, broker-dealers and asset managers, also advised a full market closure including bond markets which trade government securities such as the 10-year Treasury TMUBMUSD10Y, 3.453% and mortgage and asset-backed securities. The association agreed to incorporate the day into its regular holiday schedule.