Today, trading activities will be on pause at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) in observance of Diwali 2024. This closure affects the Equity Segment, Equity Derivative Segment, and Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB) Segment. Additionally, the Currency Derivatives Segment will not operate due to the holiday.
Despite the holiday, a special Muhurat Trading Session will occur on Friday, running from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. This one-hour session marks a symbolic start to the financial year in honor of Diwali.
In the Commodity Derivatives and Electronic Gold Receipts (EGR) Segments, trading will be suspended from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. However, these segments will resume operations at 5:00 PM. As a result, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National Commodity Exchange (NCDEX) will remain inactive during the morning session.
This Diwali closure shortens the trading week. According to the 2024 stock market holiday calendar, Indian markets will close twice more in November. Market holidays include November 1 for Diwali and November 15 for Guru Nanak Jayanti. December will have one holiday on December 25 for Christmas.
Thus, only two stock market holidays remain for the year after Diwali: November 15 and December 25.
On Thursday, Indian stock markets ended lower for the second consecutive session, impacted by weak global market trends.
The Nifty 50 index fell by 135 points to close at 24,205. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex dropped 553 points, ending at 79,389, and the Nifty Bank index closed 251 points lower at 51,555.
Although major indexes declined, the small-cap index rose by 1.6 percent. The advance-decline ratio also remained positive at 1.82:1, indicating more stocks advanced than declined.
Global stock markets also saw declines on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of next week’s U.S. elections.
Investor sentiment weakened further after Meta Platforms and Microsoft warned of increasing costs due to artificial intelligence development. Europe’s benchmark index also fell, recording its worst monthly performance in a year.
