I just realized an important thing that many people overlook—the US stock market holiday schedule is not just ordinary closure days. It’s an important investment strategy that professional traders always keep an eye on.

Especially in 2026, when there’s a midterm election and the Fed still isn’t sure about interest rates, while inflation is still “messing with” us. If you don’t know when the US market is off and when liquidity will drop, you’re likely to get “bitten” unexpectedly.

Anyway, I’ll share what I’ve learned. In 2026, there are a total of 10 full market-closure days and 2 early closing days (Black Friday and Christmas Eve). The US stock market holiday schedule is actually quite simple: New Year (01/01), MLK Day (19/01), Presidents' Day (16/02), Good Friday (03/04), Memorial Day (25/05), Juneteenth (19/06), Independence Day observed (03/07), Labor Day (07/09), Thanksgiving (26/11), Black Friday early close (27/11), Christmas Eve early close (24/12), and Christmas Day (25/12).

The tricky part is what happens when holidays fall on weekends. In 2026, Independence Day falls on a Saturday, so the market will take the observed holiday on Friday 03/07. That’s a super long 4-day weekend—the US stock market will be completely “asleep” from 03-06/07. Liquidity dries up, and volatility can spike suddenly. That’s the time when I usually close all leveraged positions.

One point I often forget is trading hours. Depending on whether it’s summer or winter, Vietnam time will be different. In summer (from March to November), the market opens at 20:30. In winter, it will be 21:30. This matters because if you forget, you might miss the entire trading session.

I’ve also noticed that the US stock market holiday schedule doesn’t just affect Americans. If you’re a Vietnamese investor, the Lunar New Year (Tet) is a big challenge. The Vietnamese market is closed from 28/01 to 02/02, but Wall Street still trades normally. During Tet, there may be an earnings season, GDP reports, and inflation data releases from the US—and you can’t adjust your positions immediately. I learned this lesson a few years ago when the US market dropped 5% during Tet week, but I didn’t know.

That’s why I always reduce exposure 3-5 days ahead of long holidays. If the market will be closed from Thursday to Monday, I’ll take profits on Tuesday. I set tighter stop-losses—about 10-15% stricter than usual. And if I have an important position, I’ll buy a protective put.

I also notice a phenomenon called the “Santa Claus Rally”—the market tends to rise over the last 5 trading days of the year. The probability of it happening is 78% based on historical data. But that’s not a reason for you to rush into trades. I usually wait until 15/12 to start accumulating, because liquidity will be very low from 23/12 onward.

There’s another point I want to emphasize: the Implied Volatility (IV) of options tends to rise sharply ahead of holidays. If you sell options, that can be a good opportunity. But if you long options, the prices will be very expensive. Theta decay also speeds up over the extended weekend. I once bought call options before Thanksgiving, and they lost 40% of their value just because of theta over 4 days.

As for the US stock market, in 2026 there are 8 FOMC meetings. Each one is an opportunity for the market to become volatile. If an FOMC meeting falls in the week before a holiday, the market will be very unstable. I usually stay away from highly leveraged positions during that period.

I also keep an eye on the midterm elections on 03/11/2026. September is historically the worst month for the S&P 500, with an average return of negative 1.1%. But right after the election—when the results are determined—the market often rallies strongly. I’ll reduce positions in September, then accumulate from November.

One warning I want to give: never trade on the first day right after a long holiday. Liquidity is low, slippage is high, and there may be large gaps. I usually wait for the first 30-60 minutes to see the trend clearly. If I’m not sure, I wait the whole day or even 2-3 days until volume stabilizes.

I’ve also learned that when the US market is closed but Vietnam is still open, the VN-Index often moves sideways or falls due to a lack of direction from Wall Street. That’s when I usually don’t trade on the Vietnamese market. Or if I have to trade, I’ll only choose blue-chip stocks with stable volume.

Finally, I want to remind you that the US stock market holiday schedule isn’t something to be afraid of. It’s a tool to help you plan better. When you know in advance which days the market will close, you can prepare your portfolio, set stop-losses, or take advantage of arbitrage opportunities. I always say: “Discipline beats emotion, process beats outcome.” And understanding the US trading calendar is an important part of that discipline.

If you’re entering 2026 with an investment plan, use this holiday schedule as a reference. Don’t let unexpected closure days ruin your plan.