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Stock Market Holiday: The Indian stock exchanges, including the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE), are closed today in observance of the General Elections (Lok Sabha). This holiday affects all trading segments, such as the equity segment, equity derivative segment, SLB (Security Lending and Borrowing) segment, currency derivatives, commodity derivatives, and electronic gold receipts.
Last Trading Session Performance
In the previous trading session, the NSE Nifty index closed 36 points or 0.16% higher at 22,502. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 89 points or 0.12% to settle at 74,006. Markets were open on May 18 for a special trading session.
Mid-cap and small-cap shares also performed positively. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.51%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.82%. Additionally, the India VIX, which measures market volatility, increased by 3.67% to 20.53.
All 16 sectoral indices on the NSE closed in the green. Notably, the Nifty Media, Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty Realty indices outperformed, rising by 1.24%, 0.48%, 0.47%, and 0.78%, respectively. On the BSE, major stocks such as Nestle India, L&T, TCS, Power Grid, Tata Motors, SBI, Airtel, HUL, and HCL Tech saw gains of up to 2.33%.
Out of 3,613 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,415 ended with gains, 1,073 declined, and 125 remained unchanged.
Market Outlook
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, commented, “Nifty remains within the channel, closing above 22,500 for the first time in several days. However, a small-bodied candle on daily charts suggests very little about the future direction of the price. Additionally, heavy writing is visible in both ‘CALL’ and ‘PUT’ at 22,500, indicating a sense of inflection. Therefore, traders need to be watchful in the initial hour to confirm any directional move. Support is visible at 22,400. On the higher end, a sustained move can take the index towards 22,600 and higher in the short term.”
The stock markets will reopen on May 21, 2024 (Tuesday). There are a total of 11 stock market holidays in May 2024, including weekends.
The stock markets will reopen on May 21, 2024 (Tuesday). There are a total of 11 stock market holidays in May 2024, including weekends.