October 31st or November 1st? When is the stock market closed for Diwali?

Indian stock markets will remain open for trading on Thursday, October 31, despite many celebrating the festival of lights, Diwali, on that day. However, the markets will observe a public holiday on November 1, Friday, although they will be briefly open for Muhurat trading.

According to Hindu Calendar and Panchang, Deepawali is celebrated on the Amavasya Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the month of Kartik and media reports suggest that the Amavasya Tithi will prevail on October 31, 2024.

India's largest commodity exchange, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), will also be open for trading on Thursday while it will remain closed in the morning session (9am to 5pm) on November 1. Trading will resume in the second session between 5 p.m. and 11:30 p.m./11:55 p.m.

Similarly, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), the largest agricultural commodities exchange in India, will be open for trading on Thursday at usual hours. On Friday it is closed between 9am and 5pm and trading resumes between 5pm and 9pm.

Diwali muhurat trade

The NSE and BSE stock exchanges will hold their annual Diwali Muhurat trading session on Friday, November 1, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., marking the beginning of the Hindu calendar year Samvat 2081.

While the market will remain closed for normal trading on the occasion of Diwali, the special trading window will be open for only one hour in the evening. NSE said the pre-opening session will be held from 5:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

This tradition of executing trades during the auspicious hour-long session is based on planetary positions as it is considered auspicious to start new business activities in the splendor of diyas and amidst the bright colors of rangoli patterns.

Historically, investors have enjoyed positive returns with the BSE Sensex closing higher in 13 of the last 17 special sessions.

As per the BSE holiday calendar, trading holidays have been announced on 14 days in 2024. They will then remain closed on November 15, Friday for Gurunanak Jayanti and December 25 for Christmas.

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