Do markets close early on Friday? Some do.

U.S. stocks markets will be open a full day, with after-hours trading on Friday before the long holiday weekend.

If you’re one of the privileged who plan to log on, don’t expect a lot of company.

Starting from the east, Japan markets are closed in honor of Emperor Akihito’s birthday. Also, the Australian Stock Exchange closes early.

In the U.K., the London Stock Exchange also winds up early, at 12:30 p.m. local time, to get a head start on a four-day weekend.

The New York Stock Exchange puts in a full shift, till 4 p.m. local time. It’s closed Monday, the day after Christmas, reopening Tuesday. There’s a full day Friday for the Toronto Stock Exchange as well.

The U.S. bond market’s trade group, however, recommends an early close at 2 p.m. Eastern. The New York Mercantile Exchange also shuts its gold trading floor an hour early, at  12:30 p.m. Eastern, with oil’s trading session ending at 1:30 p.m.

Not surprisingly, trading volume has already started to dry up in most markets. On the NYSE, Thursday’s volume of 775 million was 83% of the month-to-date average. Volume for all NYSE-listed shares was 3.5 billion. The daily average has run around 4.3 billion this year. Read more in Market Snapshot.

All in all, Friday should be a good day to break out the paper cups and pass around the eggnog — or rather, enjoy it yourself.

Source; http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2011/12/22/friday-markets-trade-a-little-raise-a-toast-to-the-emperor/