US stock markets to remain closed on Jan 9 in honour of Jimmy Carter

US stock markets will remain closed on January 9 in honour of former President Jimmy Carter, continuing a long-held Wall Street tradition in mourning the nation's leaders.

Both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq announced this week that they plan to close their equity and options markets next Thursday in observance of a National Day of Mourning for the 39th US president and global humanitarian. Carter died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100 years old.

The Nasdaq also observed a moment of silence early Monday in remembrance Carter. And the NYSE says it will fly its US flag at half-staff throughout the mourning period of the late president.

 

Tal Cohen, Nasdaq president, said in a statement that the exchange would be closing its markets January 9 to celebrate (Carter's) life and honour his legacy." He added that Carter was an exemplary leader, one who tirelessly continued his efforts to improve the human condition even after his tenure in public office was complete."  In a separate announcement, NYSE Group president Lynn Martin also pointed to Carter's enduring legacy of humanitarianism and said the exchange planned to honour his lifetime of service.

President Joe Biden declared January 9 as a National Day of Mourning shortly after Carter's death on Sunday, which is customary following the passing of an American president. Wall Street also has a tradition of paying homage to the nation's late leaders and closed their doors on these designated days.

Surviving records from the NYSE indicate that the first time the centuries-old exchange closed to honour a deceased president was likely April 15, 1865 following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the NYSE confirmed to The Associated Press Tuesday, and it remained closed until April 21, 1865. Trading was again suspended once on April 24th and 25th of that year, when Lincoln's funeral procession reached New York.

In the years that followed, the NYSE also closed to honour other US presidents including, but not limited to, the national days of mourning for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, President John F. Kennedy in 1963, President Richard Nixon in 1994 and President Ronald Reagan in 2004.

The last time both the NYSE and Nasdaq, which was formed in 1971, closed trading due to the death of a US president was December 5, 2018, honouring the late President George H.W. Bush.

While closures are rare on non-holidays, the NYSE and the Nasdaq have also suspended trading for the deaths of other notable figures and national tragedies over the years. According to CNBC and Bloomberg, the NYSE closed following the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. And both the NYSE and Nasdaq cancelled trading following the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, remaining closed until September 17, 2001.