You're sitting there with your morning coffee, checking your watchlist, and wondering if the tickers are actually going to move today. It’s the second Monday in October. Most of the mail isn't coming. The local DMV is definitely shuttered. So, is the stock market closed Columbus Day? Nope. It’s open.
While the federal government recognizes Columbus Day (also increasingly known as Indigenous Peoples' Day) as a legal holiday, the equity markets—specifically the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq—don't follow the same playbook as the post office. It’s a bit of a weird quirk in the American financial calendar. You’ll see the lights on at 11 Wall Street, and traders will be at their desks, but the "vibe" is definitely off.
The Weird Split Between Stocks and Bonds
Here is where it gets tricky. While you can trade Apple or Nvidia all day long, the bond market is closed.
Think about that for a second. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) recommends a full market close for fixed-income securities. Because the bond market is closed, there’s no trading in U.S. Treasuries. This creates a ghost-town effect. If you’re a macro trader or someone who relies on Treasury yields to price risk, you’re basically flying blind.
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Volume is usually thin. Really thin.
Without the bond market providing a pulse on interest rates, institutional investors often just sit on their hands. It’s like trying to play a game of poker when half the deck is missing. You can do it, but why would you want to? Most big bank desks are running on skeleton crews because, honestly, their settlement departments are often tied to the banking system, which is closed.
Why the Fed Matters on This Non-Holiday
The Federal Reserve observes the holiday. This means the Fedwire Funds Service—the backbone of how big banks move cash around—is typically operational, but the banks themselves aren't settling things in the same way.
If you try to move money from your brokerage account to your checking account on Columbus Day, don't expect it to land until Tuesday. The "plumbing" of the financial world takes the day off even if the "storefront" (the NYSE) stays open. This lag is a common frustration for retail traders who forget that the banking system and the stock market are two different beasts with two different schedules.
A History of Why We Stay Open
Why doesn't the stock market just take the day off like everyone else?
Historically, the NYSE has been stingy with holidays. Back in the day, they used to be open on Saturdays. It wasn't until the mid-20th century that the five-day workweek became the hard standard. The exchange likes to stay open whenever possible because every minute the market is closed is a minute they aren't generating transaction fees.
Greed? Maybe. Efficiency? Perhaps.
There’s also the global perspective. Most of the rest of the world doesn't care about a mid-October U.S. federal holiday. The London Stock Exchange is humming. Tokyo is active. If the U.S. markets closed every time a local federal holiday popped up, we’d lose significant competitive edge in the global liquidity pool.
But wait. There was a time when things were different. If you look back at the 1950s and 60s, the holiday schedule was much more fluid. The current list of nine "core" holidays—New Year’s Day, MLK Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas—has become the standard only recently. Columbus Day simply didn't make the cut for the NYSE's "big nine."
What Happens to Your Orders?
If you place a trade on Columbus Day, it executes like any other day. 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time.
However, you might notice wider bid-ask spreads.
Since there are fewer people trading, the difference between what a buyer wants to pay and what a seller wants to receive can get a little gappy. If you’re trading a highly liquid stock like SPY (the S&P 500 ETF), you won't notice. But if you're messing around with low-volume small-cap stocks? You might get "slipped." This means you end up buying for more or selling for less than you anticipated because there wasn't enough "meat" in the order book.
It's a "retail trap" day. Professional algorithms are still running, but the human intuition that balances out weird price swings is often at the beach or playing golf.
The Impact of No Economic Data
Usually, the government releases big reports on certain days—jobs numbers, CPI, housing starts.
On Columbus Day, because the federal agencies are closed, you get zero economic data. No "surprises" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This contributes to the low volatility. Without a "catalyst" to move the needle, the market often just drifts. It’s like a car idling in a parking lot.
Comparing Columbus Day to Other Holidays
It’s helpful to see where this day sits in the hierarchy of market closures. It’s in the "Semi-Holiday" bucket, along with Veterans Day.
- Closed (Full Stop): Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July. Everything is dark.
- The "Hybrid" Days: Columbus Day and Veterans Day. Stocks open, bonds closed.
- Early Closures: The day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) and sometimes Christmas Eve. The market shuts down at 1:00 PM ET.
If you’re a serious investor, you keep a physical calendar or a digital overlay specifically for these discrepancies. It’s embarrassing to scream at your monitor because a bond price hasn't updated in four hours, only to realize it's a bank holiday.
Strategy: Should You Actually Trade?
Most veteran traders I know use Columbus Day as a "catch-up" day. They aren't putting on big new positions.
Why? Because the risk-to-reward ratio is weird. If a major news event happens overseas, the U.S. market might react violently, but because liquidity is low, the move could be exaggerated and "fake." You don't want to get stopped out of a good position because of a low-volume spike that gets reversed the next morning when everyone is back at their desks.
Honestly, it’s a great day to do your homework. Scan for new setups. Read those 10-K filings you’ve been ignoring. Organize your spreadsheets. But clicking the "buy" button? Maybe wait until Tuesday.
What You Should Do Now
Don't panic if your bank balance doesn't update or your wire transfer is stuck in limbo. It’s just the federal holiday lag.
Check your open orders. If you have "Good 'Til Canceled" (GTC) orders on thinly traded stocks, consider tightening your limits or just pulling them for the day. The lack of liquidity can cause "flash" moves that hit your price and then immediately bounce back, leaving you out of a position you wanted to keep.
Watch the currency markets. While U.S. bonds are down, Forex never sleeps. The USD can still move based on what’s happening in the Eurozone or Asia. Sometimes, currency fluctuations on Columbus Day provide a hint of how the stock market will open on Tuesday.
Enjoy the quiet. If you're a retail trader, use the session to observe how price action behaves when the "big boys" are mostly away. It’s a masterclass in market mechanics and how algorithms interact without human intervention.
Just remember: the ticker is moving, but the banks are sleeping. Plan your cash flow accordingly. Tuesday is when the real volume returns and the "real" price discovery begins again.