NSE, BSE stock market holidays in 2026: 7 long weekends, 15 closures, check details here

The National Stock Exchange has released its 2026 trading holiday calendar, offering early clarity on when India’s equity, equity derivatives and currency markets will be shut. The schedule, which applies to both the NSE and the BSE, shows markets will remain closed on 15 weekdays, creating seven long weekends where a holiday falls on a Friday or Monday.

What’s closed and when

According to the official calendar, exchanges will be shut for key national and religious observances that land on weekdays through the year. These include Republic Day on January 26 (Monday); Holi on March 3 (Tuesday); Ram Navami on March 26 (Thursday); Mahavir Jayanti on March 31 (Tuesday); Good Friday on April 3 (Friday); Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 (Tuesday); Maharashtra Day on May 1 (Friday); Bakri Id on May 28 (Thursday); Muharram on June 26 (Friday); Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14 (Monday); Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 (Friday); Dussehra on October 20 (Tuesday); Diwali Balipratipada on November 10 (Tuesday); Guru Nanak Dev’s Prakash Gurpurab on November 24 (Tuesday); and Christmas on December 25 (Friday).

Several other holidays fall on weekends and do not reduce trading days, including Mahashivratri (February 15), Eid ul Fitr (March 21) and Independence Day (August 15). Diwali Laxmi Pujan falls on Sunday, November 8. Exchanges will hold the traditional Muhurat Trading session even as regular trading remains closed, with exact timings to be announced closer to the date.

7 long weekends, 1 extra closure

The 2026 calendar delivers seven long weekends, which are three-day breaks created by Friday or Monday holidays, giving market participants predictable pauses in the trading year. Overall, next year brings one additional trading holiday compared with 2025.

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For traders and portfolio managers, advance visibility into these closures offers a practical way to plan around periods of reduced liquidity and operational downtime.

NSE, BSE open on January 1

Despite widespread global closures, both the NSE and BSE will operate as usual on January 1, 2026, providing a full trading day even as markets across China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, the UAE, the UK and the US remain shut.The Indian stock market’s pre market session runs from 9:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., followed by the regular trading session from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Beyond the calendar, global and domestic brokerages are increasingly positioning 2026 as a potential recovery year for Indian equities after a volatile 2025. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have pointed to the scope for markets to claw back lost ground as earnings stabilise and policy support strengthens, making the timing of those seven long weekends all the more relevant for investors planning the year ahead.

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