NSE announces trading holiday on May 20 due to Lok Sabha elections

NSE announced a trading holiday on May 20 (Monday) due to Mumbai's scheduled voting for the Lok Sabha elections. This decision aligns with Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, which emphasizes the significance of citizens' participation in the electoral process.

The Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra will take place over five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20, as announced by the Election Commission last month.

"The exchange notifies Monday, May 20, 2024 as a trading holiday on account of Parliamentary Elections in Mumbai. Members are requested to take note of the same," said NSE in a circular on April 8.

On May 20, voting will take place in the Lok Sabha constituencies of Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North Central, and Palghar.

Additionally, the market will be closed on May 1 for Maharashtra Day. Before that, markets will also remain closed on Ramzan Id (April 11) and Ram Navami (April 17).

Vote counting for the Lok Sabha elections is set for June 4, 2024. In both 2014 and 2019, the Indian stock exchanges BSE and NSE declared a trading holiday, and forex and money markets were also closed on voting days.

On April 8, the BSE Sensex climbed 494.28 points, or 0.67%, to reach 74,742.5, while the NSE rose by 152.6 points, or 0.68%, to 22,666.3. This increase was driven by a resurgence in heavyweight Reliance Industries and optimism surrounding strong quarterly earnings from auto stocks.