An Important Hindu Holiday: Maha Shivratri
The Hindu holiday of Maha Shivratri, which honors Lord Shiva, is celebrated every year in February or March. The festival takes place on the fourteenth day of the first half of the lunar month of Phalguna, according to the Hindu calendar.
The Indian stock market saw a steep drop on Monday, February 24, the opening trading session of the week, with the Sensex and Nifty50 closing more than 1% lower.
The NSE Nifty50 fell 242.55 points (1.06%) to close at 22,553.35, while the BSE Sensex fell 856.65 points (1.14%) to 74,454.41.
Of the Nifty50 index’s 50 stocks, 38 had a negative finish. IT industry titans Wipro, HCL Tech, TCS, and Infosys led the drop. In the meantime, the biggest winners were Nestlé India, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and Mahindra & Mahindra.
Calendar of Stock Market Holidays in 2025
The benchmarks’ decline was mirrored in the wider markets, as the Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices fell 1.02% and 0.94%, respectively. With the exception of Nifty Auto and FMCG, the majority of sectoral indices likewise ended the day lower. The two worst-performing indices were Nifty Pharma (down 2.17%) and Nifty IT (down 2.71%).
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) announced its 2025 holiday calendar, which states that the stock exchanges will be closed for 14 days in total.
The market will observe holidays on the following dates in addition to Maha Shivratri:
- March: Id-Ul-Fitr (Monday, March 31) and Holi (Friday, March 14)
- April: Good Friday (Friday, April 18), Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti (Monday, April 14), and Shri Mahavir Jayanti (Thursday, April 10).
- May: Thursday, May 1, Maharashtra Day
- August: Ganesh Chaturthi on Wednesday, August 27, and Independence Day on Friday, August 15.
- October: Diwali-Balipratipada (October 22, Wednesday), Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti/Dussehra (October 2, Thursday), and Diwali Laxmi Pujan (October 21, Tuesday).
- November: Wednesday, November 5th, Prakash Gurpurb Sri Guru Nanak Dev
- December: Thursday, December 25, is Christmas.
Hours of Stock Market Trading
Monday through Friday, the Indian stock market is open from 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM. On normal trading days, a pre-open session is held from 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM. On Saturdays and Sundays, the markets are still closed.
