On Thursday, May 1, 2025, all major Indian stock exchanges — the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) — are closed in observance of Maharashtra Day and Labour Day, also known as International Workers' Day.

The closure marks a scheduled market holiday, and there will be no trading activity across all segments, including:

• Equity shares

• Equity derivatives

• Currency derivatives

• Commodity derivatives

• Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB)

• Tri-Party Repo

• NDS-RST (Negotiated Dealing System - Reserve Bank of India Trading Platform)

Why is May 1 a Market Holiday?

Maharashtra Day, observed annually on May 1, commemorates the formation of the state of Maharashtra in 1960. It is an official state holiday in Maharashtra, where Mumbai — India’s financial capital and the home of the NSE and BSE — is located.

Labour Day, celebrated globally as International Workers' Day, also falls on May 1 and is a public holiday in many Indian states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The day celebrates the achievements and contributions of workers and labor unions.

Due to the overlap of these two holidays, the Indian financial markets are completely shut for the day.

Trading Resumption

Normal trading across all market segments will resume on Friday, May 2, 2025. Investors and traders can participate in the Pre-Open Session (9:00 AM – 9:07 AM), Regular Trading Session (9:15 AM – 3:30 PM), and the Post-Market Session (3:30 PM – 3:40 PM) as per standard timings.

Recent Market Wrap: April 30, 2025

On the last trading day before the holiday, Indian markets saw a muted performance as traders chose to stay on the sidelines. The BSE Sensex ended at 80,242, down 46.14 points (0.06%), and the NSE Nifty50 closed at 24,334, down a marginal 1.75 points (0.01%).

Broader markets, however, witnessed higher volatility:

• Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.85%

• Nifty Smallcap 100 plunged 1.83%

Sectoral performance was mixed:

• Nifty Realty Index gained the most, rising 1.91%

• Nifty Pharma Index was up 0.44%

• Nifty PSU Bank Index fell sharply by 2.23%, led by declines in UCO Bank and State Bank of India

Global Market Snapshot

Global markets also remained partially shut due to Labour Day celebrations in countries such as India, China, South Korea, and Hong Kong.

• In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.15%, ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision.

• The Australian S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.10%, tracking weak sentiment.

• In early trading, GIFT Nifty (indicative of Indian market sentiment) showed a mild decline of 43 points, at 24,376 as of 6:35 AM IST.

In the U.S., the overnight session saw:

• S&P 500 gaining 0.15%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.35%

• Nasdaq Composite closing flat at 17,446.34

Upcoming Stock Market Holidays in 2025

The following are some of the next major holidays when Indian stock markets will remain closed:

• Independence Day – August 15, 2025

• Ganesh Chaturthi – August 27, 2025

• Gandhi Jayanti/Dussehra – October 2, 2025

• Diwali Laxmi Pujan – October 21, 2025

• Diwali Balipratipada – October 22, 2025

• Guru Nanak Jayanti (Prakash Gurpurb) – November 5, 2025

• Christmas – December 25, 2025

The last market holiday before May 1 was on Good Friday (April 18, 2025).

Stock Market Operating Hours

For investor reference, here are the regular market timings followed Monday through Friday:

• Pre-Open Session: 9:00 AM – 9:07 AM

• Regular Trading Session: 9:15 AM – 3:30 PM

• Post-Market Session: 3:30 PM – 3:40 PM

Markets are closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and officially declared holidays.