You're standing there, coffee in hand, ready to watch the tickers crawl across the screen, but then it hits you: is the market even doing anything today? Or tomorrow? Honestly, it's a question that catches even seasoned traders off guard. We get so used to the 9:30 a.m. bell that when the floor stays quiet, it feels like the whole world stopped spinning for a second.
If you are asking is the n y stock exchange open tomorrow, the answer depends entirely on which "tomorrow" we're talking about in this stretch of January 2026.
Since today is Saturday, January 17, 2026, tomorrow is Sunday. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is closed tomorrow, Sunday, January 18. But there’s a bigger catch this week. Monday, January 19, 2026, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The NYSE, Nasdaq, and bond markets are all closed for the federal holiday. You won't see a single trade execute until Tuesday morning. Basically, you’re looking at a long three-day weekend where the only thing moving is the weekend crypto market or maybe your own heart rate if you're holding a heavy bag.
Why the NYSE Stays Dark on Holidays
The Big Board doesn't just close because the traders want a beach day. It follows a strict federal schedule. For 2026, the NYSE Group—which includes the NYSE, NYSE American, Arca, Chicago, and National—observes ten specific holidays.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a big one. It was signed into law back in '83, and the markets have been honoring it for decades. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, the market usually closes the Friday before. If it hits on a Sunday, like the 4th of July sometimes does, the market takes the following Monday off.
Since MLK Day is always the third Monday of January, it’s a guaranteed long weekend. You’ve basically got a massive "Closed" sign hanging over 11 Wall Street until Tuesday, January 20, at 9:30 a.m. ET.
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What Happens to Your Orders?
You might think, "Hey, I'll just put my limit order in on Sunday night and be first in line."
Well, sorta.
You can technically enter orders through most brokerage apps like Robinhood, Fidelity, or Schwab over the weekend. They’ll just sit there in a "pending" or "queued" state. They won't actually hit the exchange until the pre-market session opens up on Tuesday.
The Pre-Market and After-Hours Reality
Standard hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. But there’s also the "extended-hours" world.
- Early Trading Session: Starts as early as 4:00 a.m. ET (for some platforms) or 7:00 a.m. ET for the NYSE Arca.
- Late Trading Session: Runs from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.
On a holiday weekend like this one, those sessions don't exist. There is no "early" Monday. The lights are out. If you're a futures trader, though, things are a little different. Futures markets often have abbreviated hours on holidays rather than total shutdowns, but for the average person buying Apple or Tesla stock, you're stuck waiting.
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The 2026 Holiday Roadmap
Knowing the schedule helps you avoid that "why isn't my app working?" panic. Here is the layout of when the doors are locked for the rest of the year.
Early Winter & Spring
After this MLK Day break, the next time the market takes a breather is Monday, February 16, for Presidents' Day. Then you’ve got Good Friday on April 3. It's always a weird one because it's not a federal holiday, but the NYSE closes anyway. Tradition is a powerful thing on Wall Street.
Summer Breaks
Memorial Day shuts things down on May 25. Juneteenth (June 19) is a newer addition to the closure list but it’s firmly on the calendar now. Independence Day is technically Saturday, July 4, so the market observes it on Friday, July 3.
The Home Stretch
- Labor Day: Monday, September 7
- Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 26 (with an early 1:00 p.m. close on Friday)
- Christmas: Friday, December 25
Does "Closed" Mean No News?
Absolutely not. In fact, holiday weekends are often when the "quiet" news drops. Companies might wait until the market is closed to announce something they don't want an immediate, knee-jerk reaction to. Or, global events in Europe or Asia—where the markets might be open—can create a "gap" in prices.
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This means when the NYSE reopens on Tuesday, the price might be way higher or lower than where it closed on Friday afternoon. Traders call this a "gap up" or "gap down." It's one of the biggest risks of holding positions over a long holiday weekend.
Actionable Steps for the Long Weekend
Don't just sit there refreshing your portfolio. Use the downtime to actually get ahead.
- Audit Your Open Orders: Check if you have any "Good 'Til Canceled" (GTC) orders that might trigger on Tuesday morning when the market potentially gaps.
- Watch the Futures: Even if the NYSE is closed, S&P 500 futures (ES) and Nasdaq futures (NQ) often trade on a modified schedule. They can give you a "weather report" for how Tuesday morning will look.
- Review the Earnings Calendar: Use the Sunday/Monday break to see which companies are reporting later in the week. Netflix and the big banks often kick things off around this time in January.
- Check Your Cash Balance: If you're planning to buy the "Tuesday dip," make sure your funds have cleared. Deposits usually take a business day, and holidays don't count as business days.
The market being closed isn't a bad thing. It’s a chance to breathe, look at the macro picture, and realize that the world keeps turning even when the tickers stop. Enjoy the break, because once that bell rings on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., it's back to the races.
Next Steps:
To prepare for the reopening, you should check the Economic Calendar for any Tuesday morning data releases, such as housing starts or jobless claims, that might impact the opening price. You can also review your brokerage's specific rules for "extended-hours" trading to see if you can get a head start at 4:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday.