Additionally, the morning and afternoon sessions of the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) will be closed.
Similar to 2023, there will be 145 days in which the equity markets are closed during the year.
The markets will also be closed in 2024 for Ram Navami (April 17), Maharashtra Day (May 1), Independence Day (August 15), Mahatma Gandhi (October 2), Diwali (November 1), Gurunanak Jayanti (November 15), and Christmas (December 25), in addition to Good Friday (March 29).
A supplementary circular will be issued in advance for any holiday that the exchanges decide to change.
The previous session, the last trading day of the fiscal year 2024, saw a rise in financials as the central bank loosened lately stricter regulations governing lenders’ investments in alternative investment funds (AIFs). As a result, Indian benchmark equity indices closed higher.
The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex increased by 655 points, or 0.9%, to end at 73,651. The whole NSE Nifty closed at 22,327, up 203 points or 0.92%.
All of the main industries saw growth in FY24, with state-owned banks, real estate, and autos seeing the biggest gains, ranging from 80% to 140%.
Despite worries over valuation, the larger Nifty Smallcap100 and Midcap100 outperformed the blue-chip indices, rising by almost 70% and 60%, respectively, in the fiscal year 2023–2024.
“Indian stocks ended the day and fiscal year on a positive note, with some volatility towards the conclusion of the session due to strong purchasing across all categories by retail, DII, and FII investors. Following their initial sell-off earlier in the month, mid- and small-cap stocks have emerged as the leaders.”
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services