MARKETS SHUT FOR GANDHI JAYANTI & DUSSEHRA; TRADING TO RESUME FRIDAY

By Sarhind Times Markets Desk | Mumbai/New Delhi | October 2, 2025

Dateline: India’s capital markets took a breather today as both Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra fell on Thursday, October 2, prompting a full trading holiday across the NSE and BSE in equity, equity derivatives, SLB, and currency segments. Exchange holiday calendars have been flagging the twin-closure for weeks; trading will resume tomorrow (Friday, October 3, 2025). The Diwali “Muhurat Trading” session will take place later this month on Tuesday, October 21—with the one-hour special window and pre-open timing already notified via circulars.

What’s closed today—and what’s next

The NSE “Market Timings & Holidays” page lists October 2, 2025 as a trading holiday on account of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti/Dussehra; it also notes October 21 (Diwali Laxmi Pujan) as a trading holiday with Muhurat Trading on that day, and timings notified by circular. BSE follows the same schedule. Media advisories confirm markets reopen Friday.

On the commodities side, MCX is closed today (both sessions) for Gandhi Jayanti/Dussehra; diwali-linked holiday notes and the Muhurat-trading footnote also appear in the exchange’s 2025 holiday documents and trackers.

Why this closure matters now

With the festive quarter kicking off and positioning sensitive to oil prices, central-bank cues and global risk, a synchronized day off tends to compress liquidity into the subsequent session. Traders often treat the post-holiday Friday as a price-discovery catch-up to global moves while adjusting for domestic flows (fund rotations, quarter-start allocations, and roll-on effects into earnings). Broker advisories have already urged clients to pre-position collateral and avoid last-minute margin scrambles around festival closures.

Segments affected

Capital Market (Equities) – Shut today; resumes Friday as per standard trading hours on NSE/BSE.
Equity Derivatives, Currency Derivatives, SLB – Shut; clearing aligned to exchange schedules around the holiday block.
Commodities (MCX/NCDEX) – Holiday in both sessions on October 2. Muhurat Trading on October 21; Balipratipada observed October 22 (session configuration varies by segment). Check circulars for session-wise specifics.

The Diwali special: What, when, and how

Muhurat Trading—date & timings

Exchanges will host the customary Muhurat Trading on Tuesday, October 21 (Diwali/Laxmi Pujan). NSE’s communication and clearing circulars specify: pre-open 1:30–1:45 pm and normal trading 1:45–2:45 pm (IST). Settlement and modification cut-offs for that day are provided segment-wise in the circular schedule. BSE mirrors the practice.

Balipratipada falls on Wednesday, October 22, a further trading holiday on many schedules (full-day or segment-specific). This two-day festive block around Diwali is standard in India’s market calendar.

The practical impact: liquidity, slippage, and the “Friday effect”

Closed markets today mean order books and dealer inventories don’t get rebalanced intraday. Overnight, global cues (U.S. data, crude, rates, geopolitics) can stack up and gap-open risk rises for tomorrow’s session. Short-dated options often price this by widening spreads into a holiday and then tightening post-open as two-way interest returns.

Liquidity pockets: Large-cap NIFTY 50 names usually rebuild depth quickly; mid-caps/small-caps may need more time for spreads to normalize.
Currency overlays: With the onshore rupee market shut, any big DXY or crude print can translate into chunky USD/INR adjustments at the next open of the currency-derivatives session.
Commodities handoff: MCX closed today; global commodities trade on. Expect catch-up re-pricing when the evening session reopens on the next business day.

Housekeeping for traders & investors: a concise checklist

Margins & collateral – Ensure adequate buffers; clearing timelines around Diwali include multiple settlements (post-Muhurat session). Refer to circulars for exact file and confirmation cut-offs.
Good-till orders – Double-check validity for carry-over across holidays.
Corporate actions – Verify record/ex-dates that coincide with festival weeks to avoid entitlement surprises.
Results calendar – Q2 earnings densify mid-October; avoid stale limit orders through reporting windows.
Derivatives roll plan – If rolling positions near festival days, pre-stage spread orders to sidestep thin liquidity.

The festival calendar at a glance (October 2025 — exchanges)

Thu, Oct 2 – Gandhi Jayanti/Dussehra: Full market holiday on NSE/BSE; MCX closed in both sessions.
Tue, Oct 21 – Diwali Laxmi Pujan: Trading holiday; Muhurat Trading special one-hour session (pre-open 1:30–1:45 pm; trade 1:45–2:45 pm).
Wed, Oct 22 – Diwali Balipratipada: Holiday on many segments; check exchange circulars/product pages for specifics.

For long-only investors: use the pause, don’t waste it

Holidays are an underrated portfolio-maintenance window.

Revisit SIP/STP cadence for the Diwali-to-March stretch (historically strong inflows).
Harvest tax losses where appropriate; redeploy tactically after results.
Re-balance sector drifts—cyclicals v. defensives—before earnings and budget-season positioning.
Read the fine print on broker emails: many issue festival-week settlement advisories and timing tweaks that can catch casual investors off-guard.

For active traders: micro-strategy notes for Friday’s open

Expect wider first-five-minute ranges: let the auction play through; use VWAP/anchored-VWAP reversion rules rather than chasing the first tick.
Index futures: watch basis—holiday compressions can distort the cash-futures spread temporarily.
Options: IV often mean-reverts after a closure; consider calendars or broken-wing butterflies if implieds stay sticky.
FX-sensitive sectors: if crude or DXY moved overnight, look for air-pockets/opportunities in aviation, paints, OMCs, specialty chemicals.

Cultural context: honour and commerce

October 2 is Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, observed nationwide; Dussehra marks the victory of good over evil in the epic Ramayana. The confluence this year ensures banks, schools, and markets align for a quiet day in financial districts, even as city maidans light up for Ravan Dahan in the evening. Newsrooms and broker desks will be back at full speed tomorrow.

Myth-and-markets: why Muhurat matters to Dalal Street

Muhurat Trading is both symbolic and practical. Symbolic because it invokes prosperity rituals and marks a new accounting year for many trading communities; practical because the hour-long session offers price-discovery in a controlled, festive setting with lower participation from some institutional desks. Circulars this year again confirm the afternoon window (pre-open and one hour of trade), with post-session settlement milestones spelled out in detail. Retail investors often place token buy orders—blue chips, gold ETFs—or rebalance toward quality as a way to “start the year right.”

FAQs (for readers who skim)

Q1. Are NSE and BSE open today (Oct 2, 2025)?
A. No. Both are shut for Gandhi Jayanti/Dussehra; trading resumes Friday, Oct 3, 2025.

Q2. Which segments are shut?
A. Equities, equity derivatives, currency, and SLB on NSE/BSE.

Q3. Is MCX open today?
A. Closed (both sessions) for the holiday, per exchange holiday lists and trackers.

Q4. When is Muhurat Trading? What are the timings?
A. Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025. Pre-open 1:30–1:45 pm; trade 1:45–2:45 pm (IST) on NSE; BSE mirrors; see circulars for segment-wise cut-offs.

Q5. Is there another holiday after Diwali?
A. Wednesday, Oct 22 (Balipratipada) is a holiday across many market segments; verify product-wise schedules.

Editor’s note: plan, don’t wing it

Holiday clusters are foreseeable risks. Use them to organize: top up margin, retire stray GTC orders, and chart your earnings playbook. When markets reopen, the best advantage isn’t a hot tip—it’s a clean slate and a clear plan.

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