It’s holiday time on Wall Street, but investors are still wrestling with the pandemic and the latest strain of the coronavirus that causes COVID: the omicron variant. However, there is still cause for good cheer and cautious optimism, given recent omicron data out of South Africa, and with many global markets set to close on Friday in observance of Christmas.
The U.S. Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommends a 2 p.m. close for trading in bonds on Thursday, Dec. 23, including the 10-year Treasury note, but there will be no early close for equity markets, per New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq recommendations.
In the commodities complex, energy and metals markets will close at their normal times, with trading of metals, including gold futures on Comex, set to end at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, and West Texas Intermediate crude-oil trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange slated to wrap up at 2:30 p.m.
Global financial markets mostly will be closed on Friday, Dec. 31, or Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, in observation of the New Year’s holiday, but U.S. markets won’t.
For the first time in a decade, there will be no U.S. stock-market closure in observance of New Year’s Day because of the relatively obscure NYSE Rule 7.2.
Equity markets are aiming to close out December and 2021 on a high note after volatile trade recently. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was looking at a monthly gain of 3.7%, with a nearly 17% year-to-date advance currently in place; the S&P 500 index was looking at a 2.8% rise in December and an over 25% annual gain, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was on track for a 0.1% decline on the month and a 20% year-to-date rise. That is after withering trade to start this penultimate week of December.
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