MUMBAI, India — Indian stock markets remained closed on Thursday following the Maharashtra government’s declaration of a public holiday to facilitate municipal corporation elections across the state.
In an earlier notification, the BSE said there would be no trading in the equity segment, equity derivatives, commodity derivatives, or electronic gold receipts on January 15. The exchange also said equity derivative contracts originally scheduled to expire on January 15, 2026, were advanced by one day, with the changes reflected in end-of-day contract master files.
The National Stock Exchange likewise said January 15 would be a trading holiday in both the capital market and futures and options segments.
The closure follows the Maharashtra government’s decision to declare a public holiday to ensure the smooth conduct of elections in 29 municipal corporations, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in Mumbai.
Trading on both the NSE and BSE is scheduled to resume on Friday.
The market holiday comes a day after domestic equities ended lower following a volatile session on Wednesday, as weakness in information technology and realty stocks weighed on investor sentiment. Rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty surrounding a potential U.S.-India trade deal limited any sustained recovery.
The Sensex slipped 0.29 percent, or 244.98 points, to close at 83,382.71, while the Nifty fell 0.26 percent, or 66.70 points, to end at 25,665.60.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The Nifty SmallCap 100 index rose 0.67 percent, while the Nifty MidCap 100 index closed 0.29 percent higher. Sectorally, IT and realty stocks saw selling pressure, with the Nifty IT index down 1.08 percent and the Nifty Realty index lower by 0.92 percent.
Analysts said market sentiment remained subdued due to continued foreign institutional selling and elevated geopolitical and trade-related uncertainty. While there was some early optimism around key support levels and progress in trade discussions, the lack of sustained follow-through and broader macroeconomic concerns resulted in cautious, stock-specific trading. (Source: IANS)
