NSE trading holidays

The full-year list of NSE trading holidays for the equity and equity-derivatives segments, with the weekday shown against each date, because the weekday is what decides whether a holiday actually costs a trading session or falls on a weekend and costs nothing. A year with fifteen published holidays and a year that loses fifteen sessions are rarely the same year.

Why the dates move

Exchange holidays are published annually and revised during the year. Several follow the lunar calendar and shift by a week or more between years; others are added, moved or withdrawn on short notice for elections and state occasions. A list carried over from last year will be wrong, and it will be wrong in the specific way that matters, which is the date rather than the name of the holiday.

What a closed day does to an options position

Holidays are not neutral for anyone holding options. Time value decays over calendar days, not trading days, so a long weekend erodes extrinsic value while the market is shut and you have no opportunity to trade against the move. That is a quiet transfer from option buyers to option sellers, and it happens whether or not anything relevant occurs in the world.

The reverse risk is real too. Markets elsewhere keep trading while the NSE is closed, and news does not respect the calendar. A position carried across a long break absorbs whatever happened globally in one gap at the next open, with no chance to adjust in between. Implied volatility usually prices part of this in beforehand, which is why premium can look expensive going into a break and collapse immediately after it, independent of any move in the underlying.

Expiry and settlement

When a holiday lands on what would be an expiry day, the expiry moves, normally to the preceding trading session. That shortens the life of the contract by a day and changes the decay profile of every position in it. Trading holidays are also distinct from settlement holidays: the first closes the market, the second only means the exchange does not settle obligations that day, which can shift when a payout reaches your account without affecting whether you can trade. The two calendars are published separately and do not always coincide.

Frequently asked

How many trading holidays does the NSE have in a year?

Typically somewhere in the mid-teens for the equity and equity-derivatives segments, but the exact count changes every year and is not worth memorising. Several holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday in any given year and cost no trading session at all, so the number of published holidays and the number of sessions actually lost are different figures.

Is the market open on a trading holiday for Diwali?

The regular session is closed, but the exchange normally conducts a short Muhurat trading session on Diwali evening. It is a live session with real settlement, announced separately by the exchange each year along with its timing. Treat it as a scheduled exception to the holiday rather than as a normal trading day.

Does an options position lose value over a long weekend?

Yes. Time value decays over calendar days, not trading days, so the days a market is shut still erode an option's extrinsic value while you have no chance to trade against the move. Option sellers benefit from a long weekend and buyers pay for it, and pricing ahead of the break usually reflects some of that in advance.

Are trading holidays and settlement holidays the same thing?

No, and the distinction matters for funds rather than for orders. A trading holiday closes the market. A settlement or clearing holiday means the exchange does not settle obligations that day, which can shift when a payout actually reaches your account. The exchange publishes the two calendars separately and they do not always coincide.

Analytics only. Not investment advice. Last updated 2026-09-14.