Even before it makes landfall, Hurricane Sandy is impacting the markets. The storm bearing down on the American East Coast is worrying enough that New York-based markets are shut down Monday. There is a possibility that they will be closed Tuesday as well.
Both the New York Stock Exchange and CME, which manages the New York Mercantile Exchange, are shutting down operations before the storm arrives. This is the first time the financial markets have been shut down other than for a holiday since Sept. 11, 2001. The last time the markets were shut down for a weather event was Hurricane Gloria in 1985.
Earlier there had been plans to allow electronic trading to go forward. However, with public transportation also being closed, the hazards in getting people into and out of New York City shut down even that option.
The storm comes in the middle of earnings season. With markets shutting down, some major companies that were due to report earnings this week are electing to postpone their announcements.
Among those delaying earnings are Acorda Therapeutic (NASDAQ:ACOR), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) and NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG). All of them will report later this week.
If the markets are shut down for Tuesday it will be the first time consecutive days were closed since 1888.
