Learn about the witching hour, the final trading hour on expiration days for options and futures, a period marked by increased market volatility and high trading volumes.

Laurie Sepulveda is a MarketWatch Guides team senior writer who specializes in writing about insurance, investing, personal loans, home equity loans, mortgages and banking. She lives in North Carolina ...

U.S. stock markets will be closed on Monday, Feb. 16, in observance of Presidents Day. Presidents Day has been a federal holiday since 1879. It originally served to commemorate George Washington’s ...

Zetta Grace Bartee’s final lap as a high school swimmer put the finishing touch on a goal that she and her Providence Day teammates had been seeking all season. Bartee swam the anchor leg on a ...

Each year, the presentation of the Union Budget raises a familiar question among investors and traders: why does the stock market open even when Budget Day falls on a weekend? In 2026, that question ...

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. Wall Street closed out 2025 with slight losses Wednesday, extending a four-day decline as thin holiday trading ...

With Christmas and New Year coming close together, US stock markets are going through one of the shortest trading periods of the year, where even one holiday or early close can change trade timing.

Nasdaq wants investors to be able to trade on the exchange almost 24 hours a day. It could introduce a 23-hour trading session in 2026 if the SEC approves its plan. Finance pros are mixed. It could ...

More than $7.1 trillion in notional options exposure is set to expire this Friday, according to Goldman. December options expirations are typically the biggest of the year, but this one eclipses all ...

Gambling-ish stock trading fascinates addiction neuroscientists and other researchers, as there are striking similarities between day trading, online stock options, and cryptocurrency trading on one ...