NSE holidays 2025: Full list and what it means for traders

If you engage in trading on the Indian stock market, you are already aware of how quickly market moves. Time is always in short supply, and sometimes just a single session can be critically important. However, one thing that many traders do not adequately account for is the impact of holidays. Yes, holidays — those non-trading days that can silently wreak havoc on your strategies, liquidity, and even your decisions in your portfolio. 

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) tells us the holidays for the following year well in advance, and planning around holidays in a trading scenario can lead to fewer interruptions in your trading. Whether you trade a few times a year or scan the market daily, knowing the complete list of NSE holidays for 2025 will allow you to prepare better and not fall victim to changes in your trading parameters. 

So, grab your notepad or you can pull up Microsoft Outlook; we are going to walk through the important days and why they matter to you. 

Why knowing the NSE holidays matters

Consider it this way – picture yourself finally ready to take a trade on a stock you’ve been watching for days, and when you log on, you discover that the market is closed. It’s annoying, right? 

Knowing about the holiday schedule will prevent this from happening. It will also assist you in planning your positions around long weekend holidays, the settlement cycle, and possible reactions to global events. 

Trading holidays don’t just mean a vacation from trading — they have a psychological impact on the market, the liquidity of markets, and can affect price trends. A lot of seasoned traders pay attention to market patterns around holidays looking for entry, or exit trade opportunities at these times. 

On the topic of patterns, this does lead us to an interesting scenario — trading patterns like a morning star candle when it appears before an after a holiday could potentially signal a change in sentiment in the market outlook.

A quick refresher: what is a morning star candlestick

In price action trading, a morning star candlestick is one of the most well-known patterns in technical analysis that indicates the possible end of a downtrend. A morning star is a three-candlestick pattern made of a long bearish candle, then followed by small-bodied candle (which indicates indecision), and then a strong bullish candle that closes well into the candle’s body before it.

Put simply:

• It appears after a downward move in prices.
• It indicates sellers may be losing momentum and buyers are entering.
• It suggests a tendency for a trend reversal or at least upward movement.

So, if you see a morning star candlestick pattern before the NSE holiday, it could warrant further attention. After a break, the market sometimes opens gap-up (some are surprised), and the morning star pattern could be a reason why the renewed buying occurred.

Now that you understand the significance of timing and patterns, let’s explore what the NSE holiday calendar looks like in 2025. 

Full list of NSE holidays 2025

The National Stock Exchange of India observes several trading holidays each year. These include national holidays, religious festivals, and other significant observances.

Here is the complete list of NSE holidays for 2025 (tentative, based on the usual annual pattern):

Note: If any of these holidays fall on a weekend, trading will remain closed on that day, but regular sessions resume on the following working day.

What about trading segments and timings

The NSE operates across multiple segments — equity, equity derivatives, currency derivatives, and commodity derivatives. Each follows the same holiday schedule, but occasionally, certain segments may have different closing days or early sessions during special events.

The regular trading hours are:

1. Pre-open session: 9:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
2. Normal trading hours: 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
3. Post-closing session: 3:40 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

On special occasions like Diwali, there is a symbolic Muhurat Trading session — a short trading window that marks the start of the new financial year according to the Hindu calendar. Traders often consider this session auspicious for making new investments.

How traders can plan around holidays

Let’s be straightforward — holidays are enjoyable, but they can hinder your trading flow if you don’t have a plan. The key point is to use them wisely. 

Here are some other ideas to consider: 

1. Rebalance your portfolio before long breaks. If you know you’re going into a long weekend, take some time to review your open positions. Often, the sentiment of the market can shift during periods of inactivity, especially with any major events happening globally. 
2. Use downtime for chart and trend analysis. When markets are closed, that is the ideal time to take a step back and decipher your approaches. Look over the last data, look for scripts such as the morning star candlestick, and prepare for what is coming next. 
3. Stay data aware to international markets. Even when the Indian exchanges are close to, these markets are still active. Watching the way international markets move can provide some conclusion before the NSE re-opens on the next trading day. 
4. Be aware of corporate announcements. Some companies release quarterlies or other big corporation announcements in between holidays or off-market trading. Make yourself data aware, so your actions can be effective once trading resumes. 

Common mistakes traders make during holiday periods

When trading off the calendar, it is easy to be caught off guard. Here are a few common mistakes to avoid: 

1. Neglecting settlement dates. Trades placed before long holidays could take additional days to settle because markets are closed, which can affect your orders. Always check your settlement cycle before placing significant orders. 
2. Forgetting to move your stop-loss levels. Experienced traders know that holding positions through holidays often creates large gaps when the market opens and economic data is released. Be sure to make changes to your stop-loss to adjust for these gaps. 
3. Ignoring international cues. Even if it is a holiday in India, that does not mean international events stop. Important data from the US or Asia will be released, and while it may impact your holdings, you might not realize it until the price action opens. 
4. Overtrading leading into the break. Most traders, hoping for some easy money before a holiday rush into the inclusion of concerning fundamentals. Regardless of the actual news, holding a position into a market break is concerning. In many cases, it is likely a better trade, so just do nothing.

How NSE holidays affect market behaviour

You might not realise it, but market holidays can subtly influence trading patterns before and after they occur. Here is how:

1. Pre-holiday rallies:
   Investors often show optimism before holidays, especially around festive seasons like Diwali or Christmas. It is a mix of sentiment and short-term positioning.
2. Low-volume trading:
   On days leading up to holidays, trading volumes typically drop. With fewer participants, price swings may become unpredictable.
3. Post-holiday adjustments:
   When trading resumes, you might see volatility as investors react to news or events that occurred during the break.

Understanding these behavioural patterns helps you stay ahead and make more informed choices.

Tips for new traders

If you are still becoming familiar with the stock market, here are a handful of useful reminders as you plan your calendar around NSE holidays 2025: 

1. Keep track of all holidays in your own calendar so you don’t forget.
2. Avoid placing a large intraday trade before a long weekend. 
3. Utilize the holidays to reflect and learn about new concepts such as technical indicators, patterns, or even the morning star candlestick. 
4. You should revisit your portfolio once every quarter and see how market closures affect your overall performance. 
5. Pay attention to any announcements from NSE in case of a last-minute change to the holidays.

Wrapping up

The NSE holidays calendar for 2025 is more than a calendar — it’s a trading year plan. If you can plan around these days off, you provide yourself with some competitive advantage. You can better manage your trades, anticipate the market’s response, and make better decisions. Use these holidays not only to take a break, but to rest, review and revise your plans. 

Whether you are sitting on a morning star, globally monitoring, or just taking a break from screens, just remember unfocused down-time does not have to be wasted time if you plan for it. So please proceed to save this list. Set some reminders or events, and make 2025 your most well-planned onboard trading year.