BSE and NSE Stock Markets Closed Today: Mumbai Elections Prompt Voting Break, No Trading in Equity Derivatives
Today, Monday, the stock market is closed due to the Lok Sabha elections. Voting is taking place in Mumbai today for the Lok Sabha elections. Consequently, there will be no trading in the stock market on this day. This decision has been made to ensure citizens’ participation in the elections, as mandated under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
On April 8th, the stock exchanges NSE and BSE had announced a holiday for the Mumbai stock market due to voting on May 20th. Election dates were announced by the Election Commission in five phases for Maharashtra, scheduled on April 19th, April 26th, May 7th, May 13th, and May 20th.
No Trading in Equity Derivatives Today
As per a notification from the NSE, trading will be halted on Monday, May 20, 2024, in Mumbai due to parliamentary elections. According to the notice, there will be no trading in the equity, equity derivatives, lending, and borrowing segments on this day.
Moreover, polling will take place on May 20th for Lok Sabha constituencies including Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North Central, and Palghar. The date for counting the votes is confirmed to be June 4, 2024.
Trading Activity on Saturday Despite Holiday
Even on Saturday, May 18th, there was trading activity in the stock market despite it being a holiday. There was a slight increase observed in the market. The Sensex closed at 74,005 with an increase of 88 points.
Similarly, the Nifty also saw a rise of 35 points, closing at 22,502 levels. Out of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 21 showed an increase while 9 showed a decrease. This trading activity on a holiday indicates the dynamic nature of the stock market. However, it should be noted that the market was closed on Sunday due to the holiday.
Two Special Live Trading Sessions in the Market
On Saturday, there were two special live trading sessions in the stock market. The first session lasted for 45 minutes, starting at 9:15 AM and ending at 10:00 AM. The second special live trading session commenced at 11:45 AM and continued until 12:30 PM.
This arrangement was made for the convenience of rechecking the availability of disaster recovery sites.
Testing to Control Primary Site Failures
According to the announcement by the stock exchange, a special live trading session has been conducted to test the intra-day switch from the primary site to the disaster recovery site in the equity and equity derivatives segments.
This initiative aimed to assess the preparedness of the primary site for controlling disruptions and failures. During the special live trading session, an intra-day switch from the primary site (PR) to the disaster recovery (DR) site was executed.
The use of the disaster recovery site is crucial for retrieving data from the most recent backups in case of any unforeseen incidents causing the primary site and its systems to fail. If the primary location becomes dysfunctional due to any unforeseen events, it can be switched to the recovery site.
For organizations like exchanges, the DR site is essential, as any outage at the primary trading center in Mumbai could affect operations, and functionality can seamlessly continue without any disruption.
This testing ensures that the exchange and other critical institutions are prepared to handle contingencies effectively, allowing operations to proceed smoothly even in challenging circumstances.
