By Mackenzie Tatananni

Martin Luther King Jr. Day has arrived, bringing investors a day to digest a flurry of recent news items.

This month, concerns about the U.S.'s Jan. 3 operation in Venezuela, plus potential intervention in Iran and Greenland, took center stage. Last week, U.S. banks kicked off in earnest the latest earnings season. Investors have also been playing the tech trade, boosting shares of memory-related stocks such as Sandisk.

Here's what you should know about trading hours on Monday.

Is the Stock Market Open or Closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market will be closed on Monday. Bond markets will be closed, as will over-the-counter markets, where securities trade over a broker-dealer network instead of a major exchange.

Markets will reopen at their regular hours on Tuesday Jan. 20.

What About International Markets?

As Martin Luther King Jr. Day is strictly a U.S. federal holiday, international stock markets are unaffected and will remain open.

These include the London Stock Exchange, the Euronext Paris, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Will Banks and Post Offices Be Open?

Federal Reserve banks and United States Postal Service locations will be closed. USPS service will be suspended, with the exception of Priority Express Mail, which operates all year.

Physical bank branches also will be closed. ATMs and digital banking services should be available, though customers should confirm with their local branch.

What About Private Carriers?

FedEx services including FedEx Freight, Office, Custom Critical, and Logistics will be open. The carrier offers modified service on Monday, with early on-call pickups and drop box pickups in some areas.

While UPS doesn't offer pickup or delivery on the holiday, its time-sensitive Express Critical service is available. A limited number of UPS Store locations will be open, so it's best to check your nearest store for hours of operation.

What Should I Know About Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed annually on the third Monday of January, a tradition stretching back to November 1983, when President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill into law.

The day celebrates the life and legacy of the Baptist minister, who played a key role in ending legal segregation in the U.S. His advocacy work also paved the way for the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

King's "I Have a Dream" speech exemplified his prowess as an orator. The activist called for civil and economic rights for all Americans amid the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963. More than 200,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest racial discrimination.

King won the Nobel Peace Price in 1964 for his leadership during the Civil Rights movement and commitment to nonviolent protest.

At the age of 39, he was shot and killed by ex-convict James Earl Ray. Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison in 1969 after pleading guilty as part of a bargain to avoid the death penalty.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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January 19, 2026 00:01 ET (05:01 GMT)

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