Stock Market Holidays 2026 (NSE & BSE)

The Trading Holiday count is essential for your strategy, while the Settlement Holiday count helps you manage your bank transfers and liquidity. Along with knowing the stock market timings, knowing both in advance prevents situations where you expect funds to settle on a particular day only to find that banks are closed, or where you plan to execute a trade only to discover the exchange is shut.

Trading Holidays 2026 (NSE & BSE)

On these days, the exchanges are fully closed. No buying or selling of stocks, futures, options, or any other listed securities can occur. Orders placed as AMO (After Market Orders) on the evening before a trading holiday will be queued and sent to the exchange on the next working day, not on the holiday itself.

A few critical points worth noting about trading holidays:

F&O Expiry Adjustments

Weekly Nifty and Bank Nifty options expire on Thursday. When a Thursday falls on a trading holiday (January 1, January 15, March 26, May 28), the expiry shifts to the previous trading day, typically Wednesday. This compressed expiry schedule often leads to higher-than-usual volatility on the shifted expiry day, as the market processes a full week’s worth of options activity in fewer sessions. Monthly F&O expiry for all stock options falls on the last Thursday of each month, and the same shift applies if that Thursday is a holiday. Checking the exchange circular for confirmed expiry dates at the beginning of each month avoids last-minute confusion.

Long Weekends and Gap Risk

Seven of the 17 trading holidays in 2026 fall on Monday or Friday, creating long weekends. For traders carrying overnight positions, particularly in F&O, these extended breaks introduce gap risk. Global markets continue trading during Indian holidays, and any significant international development over a three-day weekend will be priced in at Monday’s (or Tuesday’s) open, potentially creating a gap that stop-loss orders placed at the previous session’s levels cannot protect against. Reducing leveraged position sizes before long weekends, or hedging with options, is a practical risk management habit.

Consecutive Non-Trading Days

Certain weeks in 2026 have back-to-back or closely spaced holidays that reduce the number of trading sessions significantly. For instance, with Good Friday on April 3 (Friday) and Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 (Tuesday), April has two fewer trading days than a typical month. March is similarly affected with Holi, Ram Navami, and Mahavir Jayanti. Swing traders and positional traders should account for these reduced-session months when setting time-based targets or evaluating monthly performance.

Settlement Holidays 2026

On these days, the market is open for trading, but banks are closed. This means your trades will execute, but the money or shares will not move in or out of your account until the next business day. Under the T+1 settlement cycle, a trade executed on a day before a settlement holiday will see the actual fund and share transfer delayed by one additional day.

Settlement holidays affect you in a few specific ways:

Funds Availability

If you sell shares on the trading day before a settlement holiday, the sale proceeds will take an extra day to reflect in your bank account. If you’re counting on those funds for another purchase or a bill payment, this delay can catch you off guard.

Margin and Pledging

If you’re relying on selling shares to free up margin for F&O positions, a settlement holiday means the credit from the sale arrives a day later than usual. Traders who run their margin close to the required minimum should factor in these delays to avoid shortfall penalties.

IPO Refunds and Allotments

During IPO seasons, settlement holidays can delay the unblocking of ASBA funds or the credit of allotted shares by one additional day. If a settlement holiday falls between the allotment date and the listing date, the timeline for fund unblocking and share credit extends accordingly.

April 1 — Financial Year-End Consideration

The April 1 annual bank closing is worth particular attention. It coincides with the financial year-end, when many investors are executing tax-related transactions (tax-loss harvesting, ELSS purchases, advance tax payments). Trades executed on March 31 will settle on April 2 instead of April 1 because of the bank holiday. Investors making last-minute financial year-end transactions should plan for this one-day settlement delay.

Weekend Holidays (No Extra Closure)

These major festivals fall on a Saturday or Sunday in 2026. Since the market is already closed on weekends, they do not add to the trading holiday count but are important for cultural context and planning.

Muhurat trading is considered auspicious and many investors place token buy orders during this window. The session typically runs from approximately 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM, though the exact timing is announced by the exchanges closer to the date. Volumes during Muhurat trading are low and price movements are minimal, so it functions more as a ceremonial tradition than a meaningful trading opportunity. However, any trades executed during this session are settled normally like regular trades.

Summary of 2026 Market Breaks

• Total Trading Holidays: 17
• Total Settlement Holidays: 4
• Long Weekends: 7 (Holidays falling on Monday or Friday)

With 17 trading holidays and 52 weekends (104 days), the total number of non-trading days in 2026 is approximately 121, leaving roughly 244 trading sessions for the year. This count can vary by one or two days depending on whether any additional holidays are declared by the exchanges through the year, which occasionally happens for events like state elections or national mourning.

Planning Around the Holiday Calendar

For intraday traders

Trading holidays reduce the number of sessions available for generating returns. Months with multiple holidays, like March and April in 2026, have fewer sessions, which means intraday strategies that depend on a certain number of trading days per month for their edge to play out may need position sizing adjustments. Additionally, the sessions immediately before and after long weekends tend to have lower volumes as many participants reduce activity, which can widen bid-ask spreads and increase slippage on market orders.

For SIP investors

If your SIP date falls on a trading holiday, the investment is processed on the next trading day at that day’s NAV. This doesn’t require any action from your side, as the mutual fund platform handles the adjustment automatically. However, if you’re making a lump-sum investment near the financial year-end for tax-saving purposes (ELSS, for instance), ensure the transaction is initiated at least two to three working days before March 31 to account for potential settlement holidays and processing delays.

For F&O traders

The holiday calendar directly affects options pricing through time decay. An option expiring on a Thursday that is preceded by a Wednesday trading holiday effectively loses two calendar days of time value in a single overnight hold (Tuesday close to Thursday open). This accelerated decay can work for or against you depending on whether you’re a buyer or seller. Being aware of which expiry weeks have mid-week holidays helps in timing option positions more effectively.

Saving the calendar

It can be practical to download the full holiday list from here or the NSE/ BSE website at the beginning of the year and save it in your phone’s calendar with reminders. Setting alerts for the trading day before each holiday ensures you have time to adjust positions, check margin requirements, and plan fund transfers around settlement delays.

Most broker apps like CapMint trading also display upcoming holidays in the notification section, but you can check via the exchange’s official list as well.

FAQs Related to Stock Market Holidays

How do stock market holidays affect F&O expiry?

When a Thursday falls on a trading holiday, weekly Nifty and Bank Nifty options expire on the previous trading day, usually Wednesday. Because traders have fewer sessions to adjust their positions, this often leads to increased volatility. The same rule applies to monthly expiries—if the last Thursday of the month is a holiday, expiry is moved to the previous trading day.

What happens if I place an AMO before a trading holiday?

If you place an after-market order (AMO) before a trading holiday, it will not be executed on that day. Instead, the order remains queued and is sent to the exchange on the next trading day. The execution price will depend on market conditions when trading resumes.

Do settlement holidays affect trading?

Trading continues as usual on settlement holidays. However, the settlement of funds and securities is delayed. Credits or debits will only happen on the next working banking day, which can push the settlement cycle forward by one day.

How many trading holidays are there in 2026?

In 2026, there are 17 trading holidays for NSE and BSE, excluding weekends. When weekends are included, the total number of non-trading days is about 121, leaving roughly 244 trading sessions during the year.

Is Muhurat trading considered a full trading day?

No, Muhurat trading is not a full trading day. It is a special one-hour session held on the evening of Diwali. This session is largely symbolic, with typically low trading volumes and limited price movement. However, any trades executed during Muhurat trading are settled just like regular trades.