Share market holiday: A ready reckoner

Investing in the stock market is your best chance to profit from a company’s growth. The share market has specific working hours. Stock exchanges are the underlying platforms to buy and sell equities. They provide trading, clearing, and settlement services. The stock market remains closed on specific days like any other traditional markets. These days are the share market holidays.

Trading holidays

India is a culturally diverse country. The festivals of all cultures and religions are celebrated with similar importance here. Holidays reflect this secular spirit of the country. The share market is no exception. Share market holidays may be observed dates, not actual dates. For example, if a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Indian stock exchanges may remain closed on the Friday before the weekend or the Monday after it.

The share market holiday list will come in handy if you plan to invest efficiently. The Indian share market revolves around two major stock exchanges—the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The BSE is the oldest stock exchange in Asia and the 10th largest of its kind in the world. The NSE is the world’s 11th-largest stock exchange. Both the BSE and the NSE follow the same operational hours.

Read more: How to transfer shares from one demat account to another

Working hours

The share market operates five days a week, from Monday to Friday, between 9:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Within these working hours, the stock market functions continuously, with no break. On Saturdays and Sundays, the stock market remains closed. Share market holidays can be classified under two heads—trading holidays and clearing holidays.

• Trading holidays: On these days, you can’t buy or sell shares.
• Clearing holidays: You can still trade shares on these days. But the trading done on the previous day will not be cleared for settlement on clearing holidays.

The same share market holiday calendar applies to both the stock exchanges. The stock exchanges remain closed on all national holidays and specific regional holidays. Sometimes the exchanges observe multiple days of holidays in a row. On occasion, the exchanges remain operational for modified hours, instead of closing for a whole day. Muhurat trading is an example of modified trading hours of stock market operation.

Read more: Share market timings

Muhurat trading

Muhurat trading is a traditional symbolic ritual to worship the Hindu Goddess of wealth. It happens every year, in the evening, on the day of Diwali. It is a special one-hour trading session. According to the Vikram Samvat (Vedic calendar), this day marks the beginning of the Hindu financial year. Many investors believe that trading on this day brings wealth and prosperity throughout the year. Thus, Muhurat trading is also known as Samvat trading. The market generally ends on a positive note because on this day most investors prefer ‘buy orders’ to ‘sell orders’.

The one-hour Muhurat trading practice has been taking place every year since the beginning of trading on the BSE and the NSE. Generally, the stock exchanges notify traders and investors of the non-scheduled trading hours. Before the opening bell ceremony for trading, there is a 15-minute pre-opening session to give traders and investors an overview of the market.

Read more: How the share market works in India

List of trading holidays in 2023

Here is the list of days on which the BSE and the NSE will remain closed in 2023. The holidays will be on the observed dates but not on the actual dates.

Click here to see complete holidays list

Conclusion

If you are a share market investor, you are on the right track to create long-term wealth. If you are not already into it, open a demat account today with Kotak Securities. Your equity trading depends on the working hours of the share market. Checking out the holiday calendar and keeping note of the important dates will help you plan your trading accordingly.

Read more: How to be a successful day trader

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