Stock market holiday today for Holi 2026: Are NSE BSE open or closed on March 3 for Holi celebration? Check now

Indian equity markets BSE and the NSE, will remain closed today on account of the Holi holiday. Although the exchanges have declared the holiday for today, the festival of colours will be celebrated across large parts of the country on Wednesday, March 4.

The country’s largest non-agricultural commodity exchange, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) is shut for trading in the first session between 9 am and 5 pm, but will resume trading in the evening session from 5 pm to 11:30.

Meanwhile, the largest agricultural bourse, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), will remain shut for both trading sessions.

The frontline indices Nifty and the BSE Sensex ended with deep cuts on Monday amid selling pressure across the board. Sectorally, financials, auto and consumer stocks were the worst hit. In a volatile session, the broader Nifty plunged 313 points, or 1.24%, to close at 24,865.70, while the 30-share Sensex plunged 1,048 points, or 1.29%, to settle at 80,238.85.

The fear index India VIX shot up 25% in the previous session to settle at 17.13.

Decoding the technical charts, Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President – Research at Religare Broking said the sharp decline has pushed the Nifty closer to its swing low around the 24,600 level, and a decisive break below this could extend the correction towards the 24,400 mark. “On the upside, the 25,000–25,250 zone is likely to act as an immediate hurdle in case of any recovery. Given the heightened volatility and global uncertainty, we reiterate our advice to maintain a cautious stance, keep position sizes light and focus on disciplined risk management,” he said.
2026 holiday list
In the holiday calendar released last year, the exchanges had initially announced 15 trading holidays but later added January 15 as an additional holiday on account of the Mumbai BMC elections. After this, the domestic markets were closed on January 26 on account of a Republic Day.
The equity markets are closed on two other occasions in March. They will be closed on Thursday, March 26 for Shri Ram Navami and on Tuesday, March 31 for Shri Mahavir Jayanti.

The next holiday will fall on Friday, April 3 which will be a Good Friday. Markets will also be shut on Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14, Maharashtra Day on May 1 and Bakri Id on May 28.

The second half of the year includes Muharram on June 26, Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14 and Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. Dussehra falls on October 20, followed by Diwali Balipratipada on November 10 and Guru Nanak Jayanti on November 24. The final trading holiday of the year will be Christmas on December 25.

The small surprise in the circular is that there is no mention of holiday for Diwali as it is falling on a weekend (Sunday). The Muhurat Trading will be conducted on Sunday, November 08, 2026 and the timings of Muhurat Trading will be notified subsequently.

The exchanges may alter any of the above holidays, for which a separate circular shall be issued in advance.

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)