Is the Stock Market Open on Labor Day 2026? CME Futures Hours

US stock markets are fully closed on Monday, September 7, 2026 for Labor Day, and CME Group’s equity index futures trading halts at 12:00 pm local time (Central Time) as part of the exchange’s holiday schedule. That means no new equity futures trades can be executed after midday, and cash equities on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq do not trade at all that day. Any stock orders placed on the holiday sit in the queue and are not executed until markets reopen on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. For a full year-round view of futures trading hours, see the CME Futures Holidays calendar.

Because Labor Day falls on the first Monday in September, both the cash equity market and the futures market observe it, but in different ways. NYSE and Nasdaq shut completely for the day. CME Group’s equity index futures, which normally trade almost around the clock from Sunday evening through Friday afternoon, keep the Sunday overnight session open but halt trading at 12:00 pm Central Time (1:00 pm Eastern Time, 6:00 pm London time) on the Monday holiday itself.

Which markets are closed on Labor Day 2026?

Is the market open the day before and after?

Friday, September 4, 2026 is a normal full trading day on NYSE and Nasdaq, with no early close ahead of the long weekend. CME equity futures trade their usual Sunday evening reopening on September 6, 2026, but that Sunday-into-Monday session ends early, halting at 12:00 pm CT on the Monday holiday rather than running through to the next scheduled break. Trading resumes as normal on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, when both cash equities and futures return to their regular hours, which for CME futures runs 5:00 pm to 4:00 pm CT (Sunday to Friday), with a daily maintenance break between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm.

Why do markets close for Labor Day?

Labor Day was established as a US federal holiday in 1894, created to honour the American labour movement and the contributions of workers to the country’s economic development. It falls on the first Monday of September every year.

Financial exchanges, including NYSE, Nasdaq and CME Group, have observed Labor Day as a full or partial closure for decades, aligning with the federal holiday calendar and giving traders, brokers and exchange staff the day off alongside other American workers. The specific arrangement for futures, where an overnight session runs before halting at midday, reflects the near-continuous nature of futures trading compared with the fixed daily hours of cash equity markets.

What It Means for Your Money

If you have a pending stock trade, it will not execute on Labor Day itself. Orders placed through a broker on September 7, 2026 queue up and are filled when trading resumes on September 8, 2026, at that day’s opening price rather than any price you might have seen on the holiday. Trade settlement, which in the US follows a T+1 (trade date plus one business day) cycle, is also pushed back, so a trade executed on Friday, September 4 settles on Tuesday, September 8 rather than Monday, since the holiday does not count as a settlement day.

Anyone holding CME equity futures positions, often used by professional traders and some pension funds to hedge exposure to the S&P 500 or Nasdaq-100, should note that the halt at 12:00 pm CT means no adjustments can be made to those positions for the rest of the holiday. Dividend payment dates and options expiry schedules that would normally fall on a holiday are typically shifted to the next business day. Bank transfers and payroll processing through the US banking system are also generally delayed, as most US banks are closed for Labor Day. Cryptocurrency markets, unlike traditional exchanges, continue trading 24 hours a day throughout the holiday with no interruption.

For UK, European and Asian investors, US market closures on Labor Day mean no fresh price signals from Wall Street during the American trading day, which can occasionally reduce liquidity and widen spreads in related instruments, such as US-listed ETFs traded on European exchanges, even though those local markets remain open.

Remaining CME Futures holidays in 2026

• Thanksgiving Day (Equity Futures Halt 12:00 CT), November 26, 2026: early close
• Day After Thanksgiving (Early Close), November 27, 2026: early close at 12:15 pm CT
• Christmas Eve (Early Close), December 24, 2026: early close at 12:15 pm CT
• Christmas Day, December 25, 2026: closed

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the stock market open on Labor Day 2026?

No. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are fully closed on Monday, September 7, 2026.

Is the bond market open on Labor Day?

No. SIFMA recommends that the US bond market close for the full day on Labor Day.

What time do CME equity futures halt on Labor Day?

CME equity index futures trading halts at 12:00 pm local time (Central Time), which is 1:00 pm Eastern Time and 6:00 pm London time.

When is the next CME futures holiday after Labor Day 2026?

The next scheduled holiday is Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 2026, when equity futures again halt trading at 12:00 pm CT.

Are US banks open on Labor Day?

No, most US banks are closed on Labor Day, which can delay transfers and payroll processing scheduled for that day.

Results: Labor Day 2026 Market Closure

CME Group’s holiday schedule for Labor Day, September 7, 2026, was confirmed to have run exactly as planned, with no last-minute changes to the timetable published on the exchange’s official trading hours page. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq were fully closed for the day, and CME equity index futures, which had opened as usual on Sunday evening, halted trading at 12:00 pm Central Time (1:00 pm Eastern Time, 6:00 pm London time) rather than continuing through to the normal daily close.

There was no deviation from the preview scenario. Financial media outlets covering the holiday confirmed on the day that no regular trading took place in US stocks or most US-listed ETFs, and that any pending orders would carry over to the next regular session on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

Market Reaction

There was no market reaction to report in the usual sense, since this was a scheduled full-day closure rather than a data release or policy decision. With NYSE and Nasdaq shut, there were no cash equity prices, and CME equity futures traded only in a shortened Sunday-evening-to-midday window before the halt, giving no fresh signal on US stocks for the rest of the day.

Overseas, the London Stock Exchange, Euronext and Tokyo Stock Exchange traded normally through the US holiday, as they do not observe Labor Day, though volumes in US-linked instruments such as American depositary receipts and cross-listed ETFs were thinner than usual because of the absence of a live US reference price. Trading in cash equities and full-hours futures resumed as normal from Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

What this means for your money now

The outlook is unchanged from the preview: any stock or ETF orders placed on the holiday were queued and executed at Tuesday’s opening prices rather than at any level seen during the shortened Monday session, and trades from the prior Friday settled a day later than usual because the holiday does not count as a settlement day.