Stock market holiday today: Why are BSE Sensex, Nifty50 closed for trading on July 17, 2024?

Stock market today – BSE Sensex and Nifty50 closed for trading: On Wednesday, July 17, the Indian equity markets will remain closed due to the observance of Muharram, as per the BSE market holiday calendar. As a result, all segments, including the equity segment, derivative segment, and SLB segment, will not be operational today.
Similarly, the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) will be closed for the morning session but will resume operations for the evening session.
In addition to Muharram (July 17), the markets will be closed on several other occasions in 2024, including Independence Day (August 15), Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti (October 2), Diwali (November 1), Gurunanak Jayanti (November 15) and Christmas (December 25), says an ET report.
The exchanges reserve the right to modify any of the aforementioned holidays, and a separate circular will be issued in advance to notify the public of such changes.
During Tuesday’s trading session, Indian benchmark equity indices reached new all-time highs, driven by gains in information technology shares amid growing expectations of a rate cut as early as September.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed at a record high of 80,716.55, while the broader Nifty also ended the day at an all-time closing high of 24,613.
Among the Sensex constituents, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, ITC, and Asian Paints were the top performers.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, and Power Grid were among the underperformers.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “In the next few days in the run up to the Budget, the market is likely to anticipate the Budget proposals and respond. Even though Budget anticipations are speculative, this Budget will be growth oriented and at the same time fiscally prudent.”
Vijayakumar further added that the finance minister has ample room for fiscal consolidation due to tax buoyancy and the RBI dividend bonanza, which will contribute to market optimism.