US stock market holiday: Here's why Wall Street is closed on July 3

US market holiday today: US stock markets will remain closed on Friday, July 3, in observance of the Independence Day holiday, as July 4 falls on a Saturday this year. Trading in equities and bonds will resume on Monday, July 6.

The closure applies to major US stock exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq, as well as the bond market. The bond market also ended trading early on Thursday, closing at 2 p.m. Eastern Time ahead of the long holiday weekend.

The holiday schedule follows the standard US market convention under which Independence Day is observed on the preceding Friday when July 4 falls on a Saturday. As a result, investors will have a three-day weekend before regular trading resumes on Monday.

US stock markets on Thursday

US stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing to a record closing high after a softer-than-expected jobs report eased concerns over near-term interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. However, continued weakness in chipmaker stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, while the S&P 500 ended largely unchanged.

The US nonfarm payrolls report showed the economy added 57,000 jobs last month, well below economists' expectations of 110,000. The unemployment rate stood at 4.2%, compared with expectations of 4.3%. The report, coupled with downward revisions to payroll data for the previous two months, indicated that US hiring slowed in June, tempering the momentum seen earlier this year.

Following the data, expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike eased. According to CME FedWatch, markets continued to fully price in a 25-basis-point rate hike this year, but only by December instead of October. Short-term Treasury yields declined and the US dollar weakened.

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said this week that price risks have eased while reiterating his commitment to bringing inflation back to the 2% target. Although the Fed kept interest rates unchanged last month, policymakers signalled growing support for rate hikes later this year amid inflation remaining at its fastest pace since 2023.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 594.83 points, or 1.14%, to close at 52,900.07, marking its fourth consecutive week of gains, the longest winning streak since October 2024. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged, edging up 0.01 point to 7,483.24, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 207.36 points, or 0.80%, to 25,832.67.

For the week, the Dow advanced about 2%, the S&P 500 gained 1.8%, and the Nasdaq rose 2.1%. Among individual stocks, Tesla declined 7.5% despite reporting second-quarter deliveries above estimates after rallying sharply earlier in the week. Bending Spoons also fell 11.3%, a day after the Vimeo owner surged 40% during its Nasdaq debut.

(With inputs from agencies)