The U.S. stock market closed on the 19th (local time) in observance of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people.

A sign on Wall Street in the United States. /Courtesy of Reuters

Juneteenth is a portmanteau of 'June' and 'nineteenth.' It is a public holiday commemorating the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people were freed in Texas, two years after former President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

Originally, Juneteenth was not a federal holiday. On June 17, 2021, former President Joe Biden signed a law designating Juneteenth as a federal holiday, making it the 11th national public holiday in the United States.