Is the Stock Market Open for Boxing Day? Three Things to Know About the Holiday

Is the Stock Market Closed for Christmas and Boxing Day 2023?

Stock markets in London, Toronto, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Johannesburg are closed on Monday Dec. 25 and Tuesday Dec. 26, as are most European markets. 

In the U.S., the New York Stock Exchange and the
Nasdaq Stock Market
are closed on Monday, Dec. 25 for Christmas but open on Dec. 26. 

How Does the Market Normally Perform on Boxing Day? 

The day after Christmas is normally one of moderate festive cheer for the U.S. stock market, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.3% on average, going back to 1928, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P has moved higher on 70% of Boxing Days. 

The single best ever Boxing Day for the market was relatively recent, in 2018, when the S&P 500 rose 5% and the Dow rallied more than 1,000 points. However, that was driven by a bout of Boxing Day bargain hunting after steep losses in the previous trading sessions. 

By contrast, the worst ever Boxing Day losses came in 1930, with the market still in the midst of the Great Crash.   

What Is Celebrated on Boxing Day? 

Boxing Day’s origins are obscure although historians generally consider it is linked to giving gifts on the day after Christmas to those outside the family such as servants or as offerings made to churches through their donations boxes, (where the boxing day term may herald).

The date is also known as St. Stephen’s Day in many Western European countries, in veneration of the first martyr of Christianity. 

If that sounds familiar, you might be remembering the lyrics of Good King Wenceslas, when the titular monarch looked out “on the feast of Stephen”. Appropriately it’s often a day for finishing the leftovers of the Christmas meal. 

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com