Indian Equity Markets Closed on Monday for General Elections
Indian equity benchmarks are closed on Monday, as per the BSE website, to mark “General Elections (Lok Sabha).” The equity segment, equity derivative segment, and the SLB (Security Lending and Borrowing) segment remain closed. Additionally, currency derivatives, commodity derivatives, and electronic gold receipts segments are also shut. In May 2024, there are 11 stock market holidays, including Saturdays and Sundays.
During the previous session, the NSE Nifty closed 36 points or 0.16% higher at 22,502, while the BSE Sensex settled 89 points or 0.12% up at 74,006. The markets were open on May 18 for a special trading session. Mid- and small-cap shares also finished positively, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.51% and Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.82%. The India VIX, or fear index, increased by 3.67% to 20.53.
All 16 sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. Nifty Media, Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty Realty outperformed, rising 1.24%, 0.48%, 0.47%, and 0.78%, respectively. On the BSE, major stocks like Nestle India, L&T, TCS, Power Grid, Tata Motors, SBI, Airtel, HUL, and HCL Tech gained up to 2.33%.
Out of 3,613 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,415 gained, 1,073 declined, and 125 remained unchanged. The markets will reopen on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
Nifty Outlook
“Nifty remains within the channel, closing above 22,500 for the first time in several days,” said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. He advises traders to be watchful in the initial hour to confirm any directional move. Support is at 22,400, with potential upward movement towards 22,600 in the short term.
