New Delhi, 26 March (H.S.):

The Indian stock markets will remain closed today as exchanges observe a holiday on the occasion of Ram Navami. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) will not conduct any trading on Thursday, March 26, in line with their official holiday calendar.

The closure means that during this business week, trading will take place only on four days instead of the usual five.

The domestic equity bourses will remain shut for all major segments, including equity, equity derivatives, securities lending and borrowing (SLB), currency derivatives and interest rate derivatives.

The holiday has been declared by the exchanges as part of the scheduled public holidays in 2026, with Ram Navami being observed across the country on Thursday. The next trading session will resume on Friday, March 27, unless any other event affects the schedule.

The coming week will also see the markets closed for two days. Trading will be suspended on Tuesday, March 31, on account of Mahavir Jayanti, and again on Friday, April 3, due to Good Friday.

As a result, the market week starting Monday, March 30, will have only three trading days.

Commodity market: Morning session off, evening session on

In the commodity derivatives space, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) will remain closed for its morning trading session today. There will be no trading on MCX from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. due to the Ram Navami holiday.

However, the exchange will resume normal operations in the evening session, with trading running from 5 p.m. to around 11.30 p.m. or 11.55 p.m., as per the usual schedule.

This partial closure means that intraday participants focusing on the morning window will see a gap in activity, while evening traders can continue to operate under standard conditions.

Full 2026 holiday calendar in focus

According to the stock market holiday calendar for 2026, apart from weekly closures on Saturdays and Sundays, there will be 16 additional trading holidays spread across the year. March emerges as the month with the highest number of holidays, with three non‑trading days in total. Trading was already suspended on Tuesday, March 3, for Holi, remains closed today for Ram Navami, and will again be shut on Tuesday, March 31, for Mahavir Jayanti.

Following March, further holidays include Good Friday on Friday, April 3, and Dr B R Ambedkar Jayanti on Monday, April 14. The markets will also remain closed on Wednesday, May 1, for Maharashtra Day and on Sunday, May 28, for Bakrid. In June, there will be a single holiday on Friday, June 26, due to Moharram.

The holiday schedule then calms down in July and August, with no additional trading holidays beyond the regular weekend closures. In September, the market will be shut on Monday, September 14, for Ganesh Chaturthi. In October, Monday, October 2, will see a closure for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti, followed by Dussehra on Tuesday, October 20. The year will end with Diwali and Balipratipada on Thursday, November 10, and Guru Nanak Jayanti on Monday, November 24, before the final trading holiday on Friday, December 25, for Christmas.

All these dates are based on the official BSE and NSE holiday calendars for 2026, which many brokers and institutions use to guide settlement, derivatives expiration and trader planning.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar