Just realized a lot of people probably don't know why Wall Street shuts down for Good Friday even though it's not technically a federal holiday. Been trading for years and honestly never thought too hard about it until someone asked me recently.

So basically NYSE, NASDAQ, the whole thing - they all close because of historical tradition dating back to the 1800s. Not really a religious mandate, more like everyone just decided this was the move. Makes sense though because if the markets were open with way fewer traders around, you'd get crazy volatility and liquidity issues. Bond markets close too, which is why it became a de facto market holiday across the board.

The thing is, most traders just take the day off anyway whether they're religious or not. So closing is wall street open on good friday? Nope. Full closure. Even though it's not a federal holiday, the financial industry basically treats it like one. Pretty interesting how tradition just sticks around in finance. Guessing most people use it as a long weekend or take time to reflect on whatever matters to them personally.