Yes, U.S. stock markets are closed on Good Friday. For 2026, that means April 3: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq shut down for the full session, and pre-market and after-hours trading are dark too. Bond markets close early at noon Eastern rather than staying closed all day, most futures products go offline, and banks stay open because Good Friday isn’t a federal holiday.
Stocks: Closed All Day, No Extended Hours
The NYSE and Nasdaq both list April 3, 2026, as fully closed.1Nasdaq. Stock Market Holidays and Trading Hours No equities, no ETFs, no listed options. What surprises some investors is that extended-hours sessions shut down along with the regular session, so the pre-market window that normally runs from 4:00 a.m. Eastern and the after-hours window that runs to 8:00 p.m. Eastern are both unavailable. You cannot execute any equity trade on a U.S. exchange that day.
The Thursday before Good Friday runs on a normal schedule with no early close, so your last chance to trade stocks is Thursday’s regular 4:00 p.m. Eastern closing bell.2ICE/NYSE Group. NYSE Group Announces 2024, 2025 and 2026 Holiday and Early Closings Calendar Good Friday is the only non-federal holiday that closes U.S. stock markets; the exchanges have kept it on the calendar as a tradition even though it isn’t among the eleven federal holidays.3U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Federal Holidays
Bonds: Early Close at Noon Eastern
Fixed income follows a different playbook. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommends an early close at 12:00 p.m. Eastern on Good Friday 2026 rather than a full shutdown.4SIFMA. Holiday Schedule That covers U.S. dollar-denominated government securities, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, investment-grade and high-yield corporates, municipals, and secondary money market instruments like commercial paper.5SIFMA. SIFMA Issues 2026 and 2027 Fixed Income Recommendations for Full and Early Holiday Closes in the US, UK, and Japan
SIFMA’s schedule is a recommendation, not a mandate, and its own language notes that each member firm decides for itself whether its fixed income desks stay open.5SIFMA. SIFMA Issues 2026 and 2027 Fixed Income Recommendations for Full and Early Holiday Closes in the US, UK, and Japan In practice, nearly all major dealers follow it. The Thursday before Good Friday does not carry an early-close recommendation for 2026.
Futures: Mostly Dark
Futures schedules are more restrictive than many traders expect. CME Group’s equity index futures — S&P 500 E-minis, Nasdaq 100, Dow, and Russell 2000 — open briefly overnight and close at 8:15 a.m. Central Time (9:15 a.m. Eastern) on Friday morning.6CME Group. CME Group Holiday and Trading Hours
Energy and metals get no Friday session at all. CME’s Good Friday notice says NYMEX and COMEX products will have their April 2 settlements copied to April 3, with no trading for the April 3 trade date. If you trade crude oil, natural gas, gold, or silver futures, Thursday’s session is your last opportunity to enter or exit positions. The Chicago trading floor closes at 10:00 a.m. Central Time on Good Friday.6CME Group. CME Group Holiday and Trading Hours
The Jobs Report Lands That Morning in 2026
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has scheduled the March 2026 Employment Situation report — the monthly jobs number — for 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, April 3, 2026.7U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Schedule of Releases for the Employment Situation BLS is a federal agency, and since Good Friday isn’t a federal holiday, the data goes out on schedule.
That release lands in a vacuum. Stock exchanges are closed. Bond markets are winding toward their noon cutoff. Most futures products are already dark or about to close. Equity index futures have roughly a 45-minute window between the 8:30 a.m. release and the 9:15 a.m. Eastern close to react, and CME has flagged that equity, FX, cryptocurrency, and interest rate futures will carry unique closes and settlements because of the release.6CME Group. CME Group Holiday and Trading Hours Any sustained repricing gets bottled up until stocks reopen Monday. If you’re holding positions over the weekend, you’re betting on how the market will read Friday’s number without a full day of price discovery.
Banks and Payments Keep Running
Because Good Friday isn’t a federal holiday, the Federal Reserve operates normally, and its 2026 holiday calendar does not list the day as a closure.8Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Federal Reserve Bank Holiday Schedule Fedwire and ACH both run on their regular schedules. Direct deposits clear, wires process, and banks stay open for business. The split between open banks and closed exchanges confuses people who assume the two calendars line up. They don’t; the exchanges set their own holiday schedules independently of the Fed.
Overseas Markets and Easter Monday
Most major markets outside the U.S. observe Good Friday and also close on Easter Monday, creating a four-day weekend for traders. The London Stock Exchange closes on both April 3 and April 6, with no trading or settlement in GBP instruments on either day.9London Stock Exchange. Business Days – What Are Our Business Days Frankfurt follows the same pattern.10Deutsche Börse Cash Market. Trading Calendar and Trading Hours The Toronto Stock Exchange closes Friday but reopens Monday.
The Monday after Easter is a normal session for U.S. markets — NYSE and Nasdaq open at 9:30 a.m. Eastern as usual.1Nasdaq. Stock Market Holidays and Trading Hours But with London and Frankfurt still closed, volume in multinational stocks and euro or sterling currency pairs tends to be lighter than normal.
Settlement and the Monday Reopen
U.S. equities settle T+1, one business day after execution. Trades placed on the Thursday before Good Friday can’t settle Friday because the clearing systems are closed, so settlement shifts to the following Monday. Thursday trades therefore span two calendar days to settle even though the T+1 rule hasn’t changed.
Expect a price gap between Thursday’s close and Monday’s open. Three days of accumulated news, plus Friday morning’s jobs report, get priced in at once. For 2026 specifically, the combination of a major data release during the closure and European markets staying dark through Monday makes weekend gap risk worth taking seriously for leveraged positions or short-dated options.
Crypto Is the Exception
Cryptocurrency exchanges run 24/7, holidays included. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets trade through Good Friday and the entire Easter weekend without interruption. It’s the only major asset class where trading stays fully available, and crypto can react to the Friday morning jobs number in real time while equity investors wait until Monday.