The Indian stock market will remain closed for 12 days in May 2026, according to the calendar issued by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE). The closures include Maharashtra Day on May 1, 2026 and Bakri Id on May 28, 2026, along with regular weekends. During these holidays, there will be no trading across any segments, including equity, derivatives, currency trading, securities lending and borrowing (SLB), and electronic gold receipts (EGR). The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) will also be closed in accordance with the NSE schedule. As per The Economic Times, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) will be closed in the morning session but will resume trading in the evening session between 5 pm and 11:30 pm on May 1, 2026. The National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) will also be closed in both sessions, with trading resuming on Wednesday, April 15.
Benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, closed almost 1% lower on Thursday, April 30, 2026, as reported by PTI. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 582.86 points or 0.75%, finishing at 76,913.50. At one point during the day, it dropped by 1,237.5 points or 1.59% to 76,258.86, but recovered some losses in the latter part of the session. The Nifty 50 decreased by 180.10 points or 0.74% to close at 23,997.55. Among the 30-Sensex firms, Eternal, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement and Mahindra & Mahindra were the major laggards. However, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Bajaj Finance and Adani Ports were among the gainers. Investor sentiment was weighed by rising crude oil prices, weak global trends, and outflows from foreign funds. As per The Economic Times, many global exchanges are also shut on account of International Labour Day, with markets in China, Singapore and Hong Kong closed while European markets like France, Germany and Spain are also closed.
For the rest of 2026, there will be additional stock market holidays. Trading will be paused on 10 November for Diwali, followed by another closure on 24 November for Guru Nanak Gurpurab. The final holiday this year will be on 25 December for Christmas, which will be the last market closure of 2026, aside from regular weekend breaks. Interestingly, several important occasions such as Maha Shivaratri, Eid al-Fitr, Independence Day, and Diwali Laxmi Pujan fall on weekends this year, which means there won't be any extra trading holidays. The second half of the year includes Muharram on June 26, Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14 and Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. Dussehra falls on October 20, followed by Diwali Balipratipada on November 10 and Guru Nanak Jayanti on November 24. The small surprise in the circular is that there is no mention of holiday for Diwali as it is falling on a weekend (Sunday).
Despite Diwali Laxmi Pujan falling on a Sunday this year, both the NSE and the BSE will hold their traditional Muhurat Trading session on November 8, 2026, as reported by LiveMint. This session signifies the start of a new financial year for many investors. The exchanges will provide details about the session timings as the date approaches. As per The Economic Times, the Muhurat Trading will be conducted on Sunday, November 8, 2026 and the timings of Muhurat Trading will be notified subsequently. The NSE holiday list 2026 confirms that there will be no trading in the equity, equity derivative, and SLB segments on Friday, May 1. This year, a total of 16 stock market holidays will be observed in the country.
In company-specific developments, Vedanta drew interest as it neared its demerger record date scheduled for May 1, 2026, with price fluctuations suggesting the market was anticipating the restructuring rather than responding to panic-induced selling. Conversely, HUL announced a strong Q4 performance with growth in both profit and revenue, and declared a dividend, though this didn't boost overall market sentiment. As per The Economic Times, Indian markets observed holidays on three occasions in March - first for Holi (March 3) and then for Shri Ram Navami (March 26) and Shri Mahavir Jayanti (March 31). In April, they were closed on the 3rd and 14th for Good Friday and Dr. Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar Jayanti holidays.
