25 Stocks to Target (and Avoid) After MLK Day

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) has gotten off to a solid start in 2026, but history suggests next week may be more challenging. Markets will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and since they declared it a market holiday in 1998, stocks have tended to struggle during that shortened week.

In the article below, I’ll unpack the return data for the SPX for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day week and break down the results by individual trading days. I’ll also look at stocks that have tended to outperform and underperform in the upcoming week.

Does History Slow Down Stocks Again Next Week?

The table below compares SPX performance during the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day with its performance in other weeks. Historically, the holiday week has been bad for stocks, with the index averaging a loss of 0.49% and just 43% of them ending positive.

During other weeks, the SPX averaged 0.18% return, with 57% of them positive. Even when the holiday week has been positive, it tends to be limited in upside, based on the average positive return being significantly below the typical average positive return.

This next table breaks down the holiday week by day. The week tends to get off to a bad start, with Tuesday averaging a loss of 0.22%, and half of the returns positive. In fact, the SPX has been down the day after MLK Day in seven of the past nine years. During the holiday week, Wednesday was typically the only day that averaged a positive return, while Friday tended to be the worst day.

Silver Linings, and the Worst of the Worst

The first table below shows stocks that have bucked the trend during Martin Luther King Jr. week and historically performed well. The table is sorted first by the percentage of positive weeks, then by average return.

Megacap Nvidia (NVDA) tops the list. While no stock has posted gains in each of the past ten MLK weeks, Workday (WDAY) has outperformed the SPX every year over that period. Investors have favored technology stocks (both software and hardware), as they are overrepresented in the list below.

This next table shows the worst performing stocks during the holiday week. Again, it sorts the stocks by least positive returns and then by average return. Energy companies and banks make up a disproportionate number of stocks on this list of underperformers.