If history is any guide, stocks won’t change much when the exchanges re-open, now scheduled for Wednesday.
CNBC compiled a chart of the last 13 emergency-related market closures going back to 1945. On the day that the market re-opened, the Standard & Poor’s 500 inched down an average of 0.05 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 0.17 percent.
If the markets match that average when they re-open now, the S&P 500, currently 1,411.94, would shed less than a point. And the Dow, now 13,107.2, would fall 22 points.
Editor's Note: Economist Warns: 50% Unemployment, 100% Inflation Possible
The CNBC compilation spans from the end of World War II to the mourning for former President Gerald Ford in 2007.
The biggest drop came after the four-day closure for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. When the markets re-opened Sept. 17, the S&P 500 fell 4.9 percent, and the Dow plunged 7.1 percent.
The market’s biggest gains came after former President John F. Kennedy’s funeral in November 1963. The S&P 500 soared 4 percent, and the Dow jumped 4.5 percent.
This week represents the first unscheduled, multi-day, weather-related NYS
E closing since the blizzard of 1888.
Among stocks to consider when the market re-opens are generator makers, such as Generac and Briggs and Stratton, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
It also suggests home-improvement chains, such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, along with property and casualty insurers, which should have room to raise their rates.
Editor's Note: Economist Warns: 50% Unemployment, 100% Inflation Possible
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