The National Stock Exchange of India Limited has announced live trading sessions on Sunday, February 1, 2026, on account of the presentation of the Union Budget 2026. The exchange will remain open across multiple segments as per standard timings.
Futures and Options segment
As per Circular Ref. No. 07/2026 (Ref. No. NSE/FAOP/72352), the trading schedule will be as follows.
Pre open session - 09:00 hours to 09:08 hours
Normal market session - 09:15 hours to 15:30 hours
Trade modification end time - 16:15 hours
Commodity Derivatives segment
As per Circular Ref. No. 04/2026 (Ref. No. NSE/COM/72351), the trading schedule for the morning session will be as follows.
Normal market session - 09:00 hours to 17:00 hours
Position limit and collateral value setup cut off time - 17:15 hours
Trade modification end time - 17:15 hours
Users are requested to take note of the above segment wise trading schedules and plan their activities accordingly for Union Budget day.
Once markets trade on Sundays, it no longer feels progressive— and starts feeling like a bad omen for investors in India. I only hope this decision is withdrawn.
The point is that those making these decisions seem to overlook the fact that investing in Indian capital markets isn’t just about domestic investors. A significant portion of equity is held by foreign investors (FIIs). Are they expected to stay awake or log in on a Sunday just to manage risk and exposure in India? Or is risk management only for domestic investors and fund managers who are willing to drop everything and act at a moment’s notice—even on a Sunday?
A similar viewpoint was openly expressed by another stockbroker who didn’t fully agree with shutting down India’s financial markets for a municipal election.
In my personal opinion, markets should be open for 5 days a week irrespective if there is a local holiday or an international holiday but it should always be closed on weekends. Just for the Budget day, the markets are open is a huge red flag and its just wait & watch on that day for me.
“markets don’t pause for local events, nor do they open on Sundays.”
100% Agree on this! well they closed market for local event so not shocking that they decided to keep market open on Sunday for budget. this should not happen but it’s happening and can’t do anything but manage positions accordingly. that day they’ll make some money on STT.
I read somewhere that : STT collected till 11 th jan 44500 crs ,budget estimate for this year is 78000 crs ,gap of 33500 crs ,remaining 79 days.
