The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) have announced that they will remain operational on Saturday, February 1, 2025, to allow live trading during the presentation of the Union Budget. The exchanges released a circular on December 23 confirming the special trading session.
This practice aligns with previous years, where stock markets remained open on Budget Day to enable investors and traders to react promptly to announcements that directly impact the financial markets and the economy.
Market Timings on Budget Day
The trading session on February 1 will follow regular market timings:
- Pre-open session: 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM
- Regular trading hours: 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM
- Post-market session: 3:40 PM to 4:00 PM
The extended hours would ensure that participants get sufficient time to analyze the after-effect of the Budget on various sectors, stocks, and indices.
The Union Budget is a critical yearly exercise that marks the roadmap of the government with respect to taxation, expenditure, and reforms. Infrastructure, banking, health care, agriculture, and technology are some of the key sectors that keenly await this announcement to introduce policy changes and sharp movements in stock prices.
Budget Day is known to be highly volatile as it sees frenzied movement in the markets as stock prices surge or fall when investors respond to the Budget announcement pertaining to alteration of tax policies, subsidies, and fund allocations to different industries. Stocks from industries such as real estate, power, consumer goods, and more also see heightened activity depending upon the thrust of the Budget.
This could be due to the optimism surrounding the Union Budget 2025, where its announcements on boosting economic growth, improving infrastructure spending to support green energy initiatives, and providing some respite to industries reeling under macroeconomic headwinds were keenly awaited by participants.
Besides this, other announcements that can influence investor mood relate to direct and indirect taxes, targets pertaining to fiscal deficit, and privatization programs. This special trading session also allows retail and institutional investors to align their strategies in response to the government’s vision and policies for the upcoming financial year.
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Source: NSE
News Desk
