Stock market holiday for Bakri Eid shifted to Thursday instead of Wednesday

Stock exchanges on Tuesday moved the scheduled trading holiday for Bakri Eid from Wednesday to Thursday, sending certain market players in a tizzy. The decision was taken following a gazette notification issued by the government of Maharashtra, where all the three stock exchanges are headquartered.

The rescheduling of the holiday led to changes to the timelines for derivatives expiry as well as initial public offerings (IPOs).

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) said that the monthly expiry of Nifty50 and Bank Nifty derivatives will now happen on Wednesday instead of Thursday. The Sensex and Bankex derivative contracts expire on Friday as per schedule.

Some traders pointed out that the surprise change in holiday by the exchanges created volatility and short-covering during Tuesday’s trades. However, many believed that the change won’t impact any further as settlements will still be happening on the T+1 basis.

The market was abuzz that the IPO of drone manufacturer ideaForge Technology will also close a day earlier. However, a formal communication in this regard was awaited. Sources said that investment bankers handling the IPO were consulting the markets regulator in the matter.

Industry players said that high networth individuals (HNIs) had planned to subscribe to the issue on Thursday and arranged the funding accordingly.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India too announced the closure of transactions and settlement in government securities, forex, and money markets on June 29.