Market Holiday: Why Are BSE and NSE Closed Today?

If you checked your trading app this morning, you likely noticed the market is at a standstill. Rest assured, your app is working fine—the Indian stock market is simply taking a well-deserved day off.

Today, Thursday, October 2, 2025, both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) are closed for trading. This means all segments, including equities, derivatives, and the securities lending and borrowing (SLB) segment, are inactive.

A Confluence of Two Major Festivals

The reason for this break is a special confluence of two significant occasions falling on the same day: Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra.

Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday celebrating the birth anniversary of the ‘Father of the Nation’. Simultaneously, Dussehra (also known as Vijayadashami) is a major Hindu festival marking the victory of good over evil. With both events coinciding, the exchanges have declared a trading holiday, giving market participants a day to spend with their families and partake in the festivities.

This break comes after a powerful rally on Wednesday that snapped an eight-day losing streak.

Recap: The Pre-Holiday Rally Sparked by the RBI

Just before the holiday, the market gave investors a strong reason to celebrate. On Wednesday, October 1, the benchmark indices surged by nearly 1%. The BSE Sensex jumped 715.69 points (0.89%) to close at 80,983, while the Nifty 50 gained 225.20 points (0.92%) to settle at 24,836.

What caused this sudden burst of optimism? The catalyst was the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced its decision to keep the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 5.5%. Crucially, the RBI also maintained its “neutral” policy stance, which the market interpreted as a positive signal that interest rate hikes are off the table for now. This dovish stance, combined with an upgraded GDP growth forecast for FY26 to 6.8%, was the perfect recipe to boost investor confidence.

The rally was broad-based, with banking and financial stocks leading the charge. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tata Motors were among the top gainers. The positive sentiment also extended to the broader market, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices closing with healthy gains.

What to Watch When Markets Reopen

With the markets reopening on Friday, October 3, 2025, here are a few key factors for investors to monitor:

• Global Cues: Indian markets will react to any significant developments in global markets, particularly from the US and Asia, that occur during the holiday.
• Institutional Flows: Keep an eye on the buying and selling activity of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs). Their participation will be crucial to sustaining the upward momentum.
• Sectoral Rotation: Observe whether leadership from the banking and financial sector continues or if momentum shifts to other sectors.
• Upcoming Holidays: October is a festive month with more holidays ahead. The markets will be closed on October 21 and October 22 for Diwali. However, a special one-hour Muhurat Trading session will be held on the evening of October 21, which is considered an auspicious time to invest for the new Samvat year.

Enjoy the holiday. A day off provides a great opportunity to review your portfolio, catch up on research, and plan your next moves without the pressure of a live market.

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Please conduct your own research before investing.