The Jewish New Year holiday began Sunday night, and many investors may be missing from their desks today, meaning less trading volume and, perhaps, less volatility until tomorrow.

It’s possible some were even getting an early start on Friday, squaring positions for a long weekend, because Friday was the relatively calm trading session many had been seeking for some time. The Dow Jones average (INDEX:DJI) finished Friday up just 0.63%, or 102.96 points, at 16,433. That was the best performance among the major averages, with the Nasdaq (INDEX:COMP) rising .54%, or 26.09 to 4,822 and the S&P (SPX) up .45% or 8.76 to 1,961.

The big winners on Friday were the usual suspects. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 1.46% to $114.21. Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD), a biotech company popular with investors, was up 2.22% to $109.63. Amazon.Com (NASDAQ:AMZN) was up 1.38% to $529.44, and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) was up 1.8% to $104.45. The big losers Friday were focused on China, with ADRs of PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) falling 3.33% to $74.43 and those of China Life Insurance (NYSE:LFC) losing 1.67% to 17.04.

Over the weekend China said it would reform state-owned enterprises to spur growth and the United Auto Workers said they would target Fiat-Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) first in contract talks, hoping for a deal other car companies will follow.

Politics Sours the Mood

The long political season in the U.S. finally started this Labor Day, with the second Republican Presidential Debate set for this week and Democratic debates to follow. The emotions of partisans on both side could impact trading, with Democrats worried about keeping power, which they think may be bad for their investments, and Republicans fearing they won’t get it, which they also think will be bad for their investments.