As the year-end approaches, it’s time to plan new portfolios or rebalance old ones. While doing this, don’t overlook the stock market holidays. These holidays are important in trading activities and can impact your strategies.
Knowing when the market is closed helps you plan better. For example, festive holidays like Diwali often bring unique trading opportunities, such as Muhurat trading, which can influence market trends. Similarly, understanding the significance of such events can give you an edge when navigating the stock market.
Whether you’re keeping track of company share prices like Tata Motor share price movements or using a CAGR calculator to evaluate your investments, factoring in these holidays ensures your plans are well-aligned. This guide will focus on Indian stock market holidays and their overall functioning, helping you make more informed decisions.
When Does The Stock Market Operate?
The stock market operates from Monday to Friday in categorized sessions-
- Pre-Open Session: 9:00 AM – 9:15 AM:
This 15-minute session helps determine a fair opening price for stocks. It is divided into three phases:
- Order Entry Period (9:00 AM – 9:08 AM): Investors can place, modify, or cancel buy and sell orders.
- Order Matching Period (9:08 AM – 9:12 AM): The exchange matches buy and sell orders to determine stock prices based on demand and supply.
- Price Determination Period (9:12 AM – 9:15 AM): The final opening price is set. No modifications can be made during this time.
- Regular Trading Session: 9:15 AM – 3:30 PM:
This is the primary trading window for NSE and BSE, where buy and sell orders are seamlessly matched in a bilateral trading system.
- Post-Closing Session: 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM:
- Price Calculation (3:30 PM—3:40 PM): The closing price is determined by averaging trades from 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM.
- After-Market Orders (3:40 PM – 4:00 PM): Traders can place bids for the next day at the closing price.
- Block Deal Sessions:
- Morning Window: 8:45 AM – 9:00 AM
- Afternoon Window: 2:05 PM – 2:20 PM
Large trades are executed privately here without significant market impact.
List Of Stock Market Holidays Of 2025:
| Occasion | Day | Date |
| Republic Day | Sunday | 26th January |
| Maha Shivaratri | Wednesday | 26th February |
| Holi | Friday | 14th March |
| Eid-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan Eid) | Monday | 31st March |
| Mahavir Jayanti | Thursday | 10th April |
| Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti | Monday | 14th April |
| Good Friday | Friday | 18th April |
| Shri Ram Navami | Sunday | 6th April |
| Maharashtra Day | Thursday | 1st May |
| Bakri Id | Saturday | 7th June |
| Muharram | Sunday | 6th July |
| Independence Day | Friday | 15th August |
| Ganesh Chaturthi | Wednesday | 27th August |
| Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti | Thursday | 2nd October |
| Diwali-Laxmi Pujan (Muhurat Trading) | Tuesday | 21st October |
| Diwali-Balipratipada | Wednesday | 22nd October |
| Gurunanak Jayanti | Wednesday | 5th November |
| Christmas | Thursday | 25th December |
How Do The Stock Market Holidays Affect The Market?
- Liquidity and Trading Volume:
Holidays reduce the number of trading days, leading to lower overall trading activity. Investors and traders often avoid making significant trades before holidays due to shorter timeframes, reducing liquidity.
- Price Volatility
Markets can experience higher volatility before and after holidays. Traders often rush to adjust their positions before the break, leading to sudden price movements. Festive holidays like Diwali, which include Muhurat trading, may temporarily influence stock prices due to optimistic investor sentiment and symbolic trading activities.
- Planning and Strategy Adjustments
Stock market holidays allow investors to pause and revisit their strategies. Knowing the holiday calendar is crucial for planning trades, as global market developments could affect open positions left unmanaged during holidays.
- Settlement Delays
Market holidays delay settlement cycles, impacting cash flow for traders and businesses. This can be particularly significant for short-term traders relying on timely fund availability.
Bottomline:
It’s important to incorporate stock market holidays into your investment strategy to maximize their benefits. Holidays can bring reduced liquidity and increased volatility, so planning your trades around these times helps avoid unnecessary risk. Check your open positions beforehand and be ready for any price gaps when the markets reopen. Use the time off to reassess your portfolio, conduct research, or even capitalize on the festive sentiment of holidays like Diwali for symbolic investments.
Remember that settlement cycles can be delayed, so managing cash flow is key. Staying in tune with global markets while local markets are closed can also help you make informed decisions. Ultimately, aligning your strategy with the holiday calendar can help you make smarter moves and stay on track to reach your financial goals.
FAQs:
- Is 1st January 2025 a stock market holiday?
No, the stock markets will operate normally on 1st January 2025.
- How is a banking holiday different from a trading holiday?
Bank holidays may differ across states due to local holidays, but trading holidays are the same nationwide. In India, exchange holidays are decided by the BSE and NSE. If a bank holiday falls on a weekend, banks typically observe it on the preceding Friday or the following Monday, but this provision does not apply to trading holidays.
- Which stock market holidays fall on weekends in 2025?
In 2025, holidays such as Republic Day (Jan 26), Ram Navami (Apr 6), Eid-ul-Adha (Jun 7), and Muharram (Jul 6) fall on weekends, either on Saturdays or Sundays.