A mid-week break for the US stock market investors as they will experience a shortened trading week. On Wednesday, June 19, it is officially a stock market holiday in honor of Juneteenth National Independence Day. The US stock market is closed on Wednesday, June 19th, and will reopen on Thursday, June 20th.

Nasdaq U.S. equities and options markets will be closed on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in observance of the Juneteenth Holiday. However, the Nasdaq Global Index Data Service data feed product will be up and available at the Nasdaq U.S. data centers on Wednesday, June 19.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq will be closed on June 19 due to Juneteenth National Independence Day, according to the US stock market holiday list. This means that the market will reopen on June 20, Monday after it closes on June 18.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq all reached record closes, with Nvidia’s surge surpassing Microsoft and Apple as the most valuable public company. Investors are closely monitoring key economic data and Fed officials’ comments to guide the economic outlook and potential policy changes. May’s retail sales were weaker than expected, indicating a slowdown in consumer spending, while industrial production exceeded forecasts. New York Fed President Williams highlighted the positive direction of the economy but did not specify a timeline for possible rate cuts.

Next month, there will be another stock market holiday in the first week. Nasdaq U.S. equities and options markets will be closed on Thursday, July 4, 2024, and will close early on Wednesday, July 3, in observance of the Independence Day holiday. The Nasdaq Global Index Data Service data feed product will be up and available at the Nasdaq U.S. data centers on Thursday, July 4, 2024.

Last week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 1.58% and 3.24%, respectively, notching their seventh winning week in eight amid a strong rally in technology stocks. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.54% last week, its third losing week in four.

Those moves came as the Federal Reserve signaled only one interest rate cut this year which could come as late as December, even as US inflation figures for May came in below market expectations.

Still, enthusiasm over artificial intelligence continued to push mega-cap tech names, with strong gains last week from Nvidia (9.1%), Apple (7.9%), Broadcom (23.4%), Microsoft (4.4%) and Meta Platforms (2.3%).

Trading activity is set to resume from June 20 as US markets are closed on July 19. Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, commemorates Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger’s statement on June 19, 1865, that Texas was free of slavery, years after the Emancipation statement had outlawed it in that and other Southern states.

On June 17, 2021, US Congress passed legislation making it a federal holiday, and President Joe Biden signed it into law. On June 20th 2022, it is for the first time that Juneteenth is being observed as a federal holiday.

Back in 2022, the question of whether the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes would send the American economy into a recession was a major topic of conversation. Today, in June 2024, the economy appears to have taken a soft landing, with the Fed signalling at least one rate drop in 2024.

Investors now look ahead to US retail sales, home sales and housing start data this week, as well as earnings reports from Darden Restaurants, CarMax and Lennar, among others.