Is the stock market open on Veterans Day? Will the post office deliver mail?

by Junna Base November 11, 2024

It’s time to remember our veterans.

Veterans Day is Monday, November 11th. The U.S. holiday was originally called “Armistice Day” because it commemorates the date and time – November 11, 1918, 11 a.m. – of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I in 1919, on the first anniversary of the armistice, President Woodrow Wilson said that day “will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the service of the country.” According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it was scheduled to be “a day of parades and public gatherings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m.”

Today, Veterans Day is a federal holiday honoring all military veterans.

It is also a day marked by many closures. Here’s what to expect on Veterans Day.

The two major stock markets – the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq – remain open, but the bond markets are closed.

For several years, the NYSE closed on Veterans Day, but that changed in 1954 when it opted to remain open but observe a two-minute closure. Now the two-minute observation occurs before the market opens so that the trading day is not interrupted.

As for the bond markets, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the trade group that represents the bond community, said it issues trade recommendations based on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s holiday calendar – and that calendar actually includes Veterans Day.

The U.S. Postal Service will not deliver mail on Veterans Day. UPS UPS and FedEx FDX will offer many of their regular services, but customers should expect some changes.

Most banks are closed. These include branches of Bank of America BAC, Chase Bank JPM, Capital One COF, TD Bank TD and Wells Fargo WFC.

Because Veterans Day is a federal holiday, all non-essential government offices are closed. According to the Office Holidays website, it is also a state holiday in almost all states. Wisconsin is the one notable exception: It does not designate Veterans Day as a state holiday, although local veterans and some lawmakers have made efforts to change that.