Trading Holiday Calendar
The trading holiday calendar lists the scheduled non-trading days for NSE and BSE in a financial year, typically 14 to 16 days annually coinciding with national and religious holidays, with implications for settlement timelines of trades executed on days adjacent to holidays.
Knowing when markets are closed is not merely a scheduling curiosity — it has direct financial implications for trade settlement, expiry of F&O contracts, and dividend record dates.
NSE and BSE declare their annual trading holiday calendars at the start of each financial year. Both exchanges follow the same holiday calendar for equity markets. Typically around 14 to 16 days are designated trading holidays, covering major national festivals and public holidays such as Republic Day, Holi, Good Friday, Ram Navami, Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti, Id-ul-Fitr (Eid), Moharram, Independence Day, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, Diwali (Laxmi Pujan — the only holiday that has a special Muhurat trading session), Gurunanak Jayanti, and Christmas.
The settlement implications are significant. Under T+1 settlement, a trade executed on the day before a trading holiday will settle two calendar days later, not the next calendar day, because the exchange systems do not operate on holidays. This matters for corporate action record dates — if a record date falls on a holiday, the exchange sets an adjusted record date.
F&O expiry is also affected. Monthly options and futures on indices and stocks expire on the last Thursday of each month. If the last Thursday of a month is a trading holiday, expiry is moved to the previous Wednesday. Weekly Nifty options expire every Thursday; if a Thursday is a holiday, expiry moves to the Wednesday before. Traders must be aware of these shifts to avoid unexpected positions carrying over.
Muhurat trading on Diwali (Laxmi Pujan evening) is a unique tradition of Indian markets. Exchanges conduct a special one-hour trading session in the evening, typically from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, which markets regard as auspicious for initiating new investments. Historically, Muhurat trading sessions have had positive sentiment, though the session's brevity limits its analytical significance.
Travellers and investors managing time-sensitive strategies — especially those involving dividend arbitrage, IPO application windows, rights issue deadlines, or F&O position management — should cross-check the current year's exchange holiday calendar available on NSE and BSE websites well in advance.