U.S. stock markets close to honor former President Jimmy Carter
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The stock markets are closed today, joining a national day of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter. NPR financial correspondent Maria Aspan reports on a tradition that goes back almost 160 years.
MARIA ASPAN, BYLINE: The New York Stock Exchange usually begins the day like this.
(SOUNDBITE OF OPENING BELL RINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Cheering).
ASPAN: But today, as the nation officially mourns former President Jimmy Carter, Wall Street will be listening to another kind of bell.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHURCH BELL TOLLING)
ASPAN: Those bells are from the funeral of former President George H. W. Bush in 2018. That's the last time the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ closed to honor a U.S. president. They're closing again today to mourn Carter. Tal Cohen is NASDAQ's president.
TAL COHEN: Collectively, we want to make the decision to honor former President Carter for his service during the time he was president - but, again, more than that, all that he contributed to our country and, quite frankly, the globe, after his presidency.
ASPAN: This tradition began in 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The New York Stock Exchange shut for days. Since then, Wall Street has closed its doors several times.
COHEN: We also did it for President Roosevelt, President Kennedy, President Nixon, President Reagan.
ASPAN: It's pretty rare for the stock market to close in the middle of the week. But it's also happened after national disasters, including the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Sandy. And not all financial markets are taking today off. Bond markets are staying open until 2 p.m. Cohen says that the NASDAQ had some time to prepare for today, after Carter died in late December. His company made its plans with other exchanges, regulators and other parts of the financial industry.
COHEN: It did require a large undertaking. But we thought it was worth the effort, and we had the time. Given when we knew that day would be, we had the time to reflect and make sure that we could manage it appropriately.
ASPAN: The NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange will reopen on Friday morning.
Maria Aspan, NPR News, New York.
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