New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Holiday Calendar 2014, 2015, 2016

By , Money Morning • October 30, 2012

Under normal circumstances, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) schedule is from Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. NYSE Arca is also open from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Most U.S. stock exchanges follow the NYSE holiday calendar in regard to days when the market is closed or observing abbreviated hours. The NYSE and its affiliated exchanges (NYSE MKT, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca, NYSE Arca Options and NYSE Bonds) close for official U.S. holidays.

Although NYSE Arca follows the same holiday calendar as the NYSE, on days when the NYSE closes early, NYSE Arca hours may vary due to its extended trading day.

In addition to the days noted on the New York Stock Exchange holiday calendar, the markets sometimes also close for special occasions or emergencies.

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Notes on the NYSE Holiday Calendar 2015

*Independence Day in 2015 will be observed on Friday, July 3.

†Each market will close early at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, and Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, (the day after Thanksgiving). Crossing Session orders will be accepted beginning at 1:00 p.m. for continuous executions until 1:30 p.m. on these dates.

‡ Each market will close early at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015. Crossing Session orders will be accepted beginning at 1:00 p.m. for continuous executions until 1:30 p.m. on this date. Christmas in 2016 will be observed Monday, Dec. 26.

Regarding Washington's Birthday: First declared a federal holiday by an 1879 act of Congress. The Monday Holiday Law, enacted in 1968, shifted the date of the commemoration of Washington's birthday from Feb. 22 to the third Monday in February, but neither that law nor any subsequent law changed the name of the holiday from Washington's Birthday to Presidents' Day. Although the third Monday in February has become popularly known as Presidents' Day, the NYSE's designation of Washington's Birthday as an Exchange holiday (Rule 51) follows the form of other federal holidays.

What Does It Take to Close the Markets?

Apart from the scheduled days on the NYSE holiday calendar, officials only close the markets under special circumstances, such as severe weather, special occasions, or national emergencies. A few notable examples from NYSE's past:

• Lincoln Assassination: The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865 caused the first extended closure of the NYSE - the exchange remained shuttered for more than a week.
• Washington Centennial: The markets closed for three days in 1889 to mark the centennial of President George Washington's inauguration.
• Columbus Days: The NYSE also closed for three days in 1892 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World.
• World Wars: The longest extended shutdown in NYSE history was in 1914, when it closed for more than four months, from August until December, because of World War I. The market did not close on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor bombing, but did close for two days in August 1945 to mark the surrender of Japan.
• Paper Crisis: Before the days of computer trading, all trades were handled with paper. By 1968, the daily volume had begun to overwhelm the back office employees, and they started to fall further and further behind each day. The solution was to close the NYSE every Wednesday for about six months, from June to December.
• Moon Landing: The NYSE closed on July 21, 1969, to honor the first moon landing.
• Panics: During the Panic of 1873, the Jay Cooke & Co. bank failed, triggering a 10-day closure of the NYSE. During the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared a five-day bank holiday in 1933 that closed the markets. But the markets did not close during the financial crisis in 2008.
• Terrorist Attacks: The NYSE did not close following its first terrorist attack - the 1920 JP Morgan bombing, even though 38 people were killed. But the market closed for four days after the devastating World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.