Stock market holiday: Indian stock market closed today for Lok Sabha elections
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) will remain closed on May 20, the second holiday of the month, due to the fifth voting phase for the Lok Sabha Election 2024 in Mumbai. The closure aligns with the seven-phase election, as all six seats in the city are set for polling.
On May 1, the market was closed to observe Maharashtra Day, which commemorates the establishment of the state of Maharashtra on May 1, 1960, following the linguistic reorganization of Indian states. The Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra are being held in five phases: April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20. The final phase is scheduled for May 20, with the vote count taking place on June 4.
On May 20, banks in Maharashtra will be closed due to the fifth phase of the general election. This phase includes voting in 13 out of the state's 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, such as Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Kalyan, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, and Mumbai South.
The Sensex and Nifty 50, which are key domestic stock market indicators, ended Saturday's trading session with upward momentum. This continues their recent three-day rally, driven by new foreign investments and positive global signals. Every sectoral index finished in positive territory, with small and mid-cap indices outperforming the benchmarks.
During the second special trading session, the 30-share BSE Sensex concluded at 74,005.94, marking an increase of 88.91 points, or 0.12%. The NSE Nifty 50 climbed to 22,502.00, showing a rise of 35.90 points, or 0.16%. In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 saw a 0.51% uptick, while the Nifty SmallCap 100 surged by 0.82%. On Saturday, the fear gauge index, India VIX, recorded a 3.67% increase at closure.
On May 7, the BSE and NSE announced plans for a specific trading session in the equities and equity derivative segments scheduled for May 18. This session will assess their readiness to handle significant outages or interruptions at the primary site.
