Stock markets pause for Ram Navami today

NEW DELHI: Domestic equity markets will remain closed on Thursday on the occassion of Ram Navami, marking a scheduled pause in trading activity following a period of strong gains.

According to the stock market holiday calendar shared by the National Stock Exchange (NSE), today’s closure is one of several upcoming breaks in the mid-year schedule, with the next holiday slated for Mahavir Jayanti on March 31.

Following today’s break, the markets will again close on Good Friday, April 3, and Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. Other notable holidays for the 2026 calendar year include Maharashtra Day on May 1, Bakri Id on May 28, and Muharram on June 26.

As the year progresses, the exchange will also observe holidays for Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14 and Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. The final quarter of 2026 features breaks for Dussehra on October 20, Diwali-Balipratipada on November 10, and Prakash Gurpurb Sri Guru Nanak Dev on November 24, before the final holiday of the year on Christmas, December 25.

The trading halt comes on the heels of a robust performance in the previous session, where the BSE Sensex gained 1205.00 points, or 1.63 per cent, to settle at 75,273.45. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 climbed 394.05 points to finish at 23,306.45 points.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, observed that the benchmark indices maintained positive momentum throughout the prior trading day. Chouhan said on Wednesday, “Today, the benchmark indices continued their positive momentum, with the Nifty ending 394 points higher and the Sensex up by 1205 points”.

He noted that while all major sectoral indices traded in positive territory, the PSU Bank and Realty indices outperformed by rallying over 2.5 per cent. Chouhan further commented that a long bullish candle on the daily charts and the continuation of an uptrend formation on intraday charts indicate a further uptrend from current levels.

On Wednesday, Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, stated that Nifty opened with a gap-up for the second consecutive session and maintained its upward momentum. Shah said, “This optimism appears to be driven by unconfirmed reports suggesting a potential ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, raising hopes of a near-term de-escalation”.

He added that the broader market outperformed the frontline indices, with the Midcap Index decisively breaking above previous resistance ranges. (ANI)