Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her historic 8th consecutive Union Budget in Parliament on Saturday, February 1, 2025. This marks another milestone in her tenure as she continues to shape India’s economic policies. In anticipation of the budget announcement, the Indian stock market will remain open for a special trading session on the same day, as announced by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

On Budget day the exchanges will carry out a full trading session just like on regular market days following the usual schedule. The pre-opening session will run from 9:00 am to 9:15 am, followed by regular equity trading from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm. Commodity derivatives trading will continue until 5:00 pm. However, the T+0 settlement session will be suspended for the day due to the settlement holiday.

The decision to keep the markets open on Budget day follows a precedent set in previous years which includes special trading sessions in 2020 and 2015 when the Union Budget was presented on a Saturday. This approach allows investors to react quickly to the government’s fiscal policies, tax changes, and sector-specific allocations that can impact market trends.

The Union Budget lays out the economic plan for the year ahead. With the government’s fiscal strategy under close scrutiny, market participants will closely analyse the announcements for insights on growth, taxes, and incentives for different sectors, which will influence investment sentiment in the coming weeks.

The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX), will also host a special live trading session on Saturday, February 1, 2025, to accommodate market participants during the Union Budget presentation. This session will help traders manage risks and make real-time hedging decisions. As India’s leading exchange in the commodity derivatives market, MCX will follow its regular operating hours from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. However, as usual, Sunday will remain a holiday for both MCX and the stock markets.

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