Indian stock market closure on March 31 for Mahavir Jayanti BSE NSE trading halted commodities partially open

Indian equity markets remained closed on March 31 on account of Mahavir Jayanti, with no trading activity conducted on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. Consequently, there were no transactions or settlement operations across the equity, equity derivatives, and securities lending and borrowing segments.

The trading halt also coincided with a settlement holiday. Typically, settlement holidays allow trading but suspend clearing and settlement processes. However, due to the overlap of Mahavir Jayanti and annual bank closing, markets remained fully shut, restricting participants from initiating new positions.

In the commodities segment, trading activity was partially operational. The National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange remained closed for the entire day. The Multi Commodity Exchange of India suspended its morning session but resumed trading in the evening session from 5:00 pm to 11:55 pm.

In the previous trading session prior to the holiday, benchmark indices closed lower. The Nifty 50 declined by 2.14 percent to settle at 22,331.40, while the BSE Sensex fell 2.22 percent to close at 71,947.55.

The decline was attributed to global uncertainty, including geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, which impacted investor sentiment. Market participants showed reduced risk appetite amid the evolving international environment.

Among individual stocks, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, and State Bank of India recorded notable declines, contributing to weakness in the banking and financial services sector.

Broader markets also witnessed selling pressure, with midcap and smallcap indices declining by over 2.5 percent.

Sector-wise, banking and financial services registered the sharpest declines, while metal and oil and gas sectors also recorded losses, though comparatively moderate.