Stock Market Holiday on Monday, May 20: BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty To Remain Closed Due To Lok Sabha Elections

Is the Stock Market Closed on May 20? Benchmark Indian equity markets, both BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, will remain closed on Monday, May 20, on account of Lok Sabha general elections. According to the BSE’s website, equity, equity derivates, and SLB and currency segments will remain closed on Monday.

The market will now be opened on Tuesday, May 21.

This stock market holiday on May 20 is in line with the Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, which recognises the importance of citizens’ participation in the electoral process.

On May 20, voting in Maharashtra will be held in the Lok Sabha seats of Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North Central and Palghar.

According to the Election Commission’s announcements last week, the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra were scheduled to be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20.

After this General Elections holiday, the next stock market holiday will be on ‘Bakri Id’ on June 17, 2024 (Monday).

In the remaining calendar year 2024, there will be 7 more holidays after the Lok Sabha election holiday (15 holidays in total this year). The next holiday after Ram Navami is on Maharashtra Day on May 1.

However, for the currency derivatives segments, there are 20 holidays in the current calendar year 2024. Apart from the Lok Sabha Elections holiday, 9 more holidays are left. The next holiday will be on Buddha Pournima on May 23 (Thursday).

On Friday, the Indian market experienced a robust recovery despite mixed global signals and uncertainties surrounding the US Fed.

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Friday as buying in index majors M&M, Reliance Industries and ITC helped the indices rebound from early lows. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 253.31 points, or 0.34 per cent, to settle at 73,917.03.

The NSE Nifty advanced 62.25 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 22,466.10. M&M was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 5.97 per cent, followed by JSW Steel, Ultra Cement, Kotak Bank, ITC and NTPC.

The jump in domestic equities market was largely fuelled by the outperformance of the broader market and positive Q4 earnings.

“Further, some index heavyweight earnings surpassed expectations, and midcap and small-cap stocks continued to exhibit buying interest during dips. Auto and consumer durables particularly stood out with strong earnings momentum,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.