By Dave Sebastian

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said it is closing its offices early at 2 p.m. local time on Friday to observe Juneteenth, the annual holiday that marks the end of slavery in the U.S.

The financial-services company joins other companies in commemorating the holiday as the country confronts racial disparities following the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer.

"If there is anything the past few weeks in our country have revealed, it's that we all need to do a better job of listening and trying to understand experiences that may not be our own," said William Demchak, the company's chairman, president and chief executive.

The early closure will apply to all offices and retail branches, PNC said.

Juneteenth marks the day when the news of emancipation hit those in the deepest parts of the former Confederacy in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. 



  Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com