Stock market closed on Thursday due to BMC elections, no trading today

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): Due to municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra, the Indian stock market remains closed on Thursday. Trading has been suspended on both major benchmark exchanges, the NSE and BSE, resulting in no activity in the domestic market today.

Earlier, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) issued a notification stating that there will be no trading in the equity segment, equity derivatives, commodity derivatives, and electronic gold receipts on Thursday. The exchange also clarified that derivative contracts originally set to expire on January 15, 2026, will now be treated as expired a day earlier, and the changes will be reflected in the end-of-day contract master files.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) also confirmed that trading in the capital market as well as the futures and options segment will remain closed on January 15.

This decision has been taken as the Maharashtra government has declared January 15 a public holiday to ensure smooth conduct of elections in 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Trading on both NSE and BSE will resume on Friday.

On Wednesday, the domestic stock market witnessed significant volatility but eventually closed lower. The decline was mainly driven by losses in IT and realty stocks, which weakened investor sentiment. Global political tensions and uncertainty surrounding the India-US trade agreement also added pressure on the market.

The Sensex closed 0.29 percent lower at 83,382.71, while the Nifty slipped 0.26 percent to settle at 25,665.60. In comparison, broader markets performed better, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rising 0.67 percent and the Nifty Midcap 100 index ending 0.29 percent higher.

Sector-wise, IT and realty stocks saw the most selling pressure. The Nifty IT index fell 1.08 percent, while the Nifty Realty index declined by 0.92 percent.

Experts say continuous selling by foreign investors and ongoing global political and trade uncertainties are keeping pressure on the market. As a result, investors are avoiding taking major risks and are trading cautiously in select stocks.