Is Stock Market Open Today? Here's How Sensex, Nifty Performed This Week, Outlook Ahead

Trading in the stock market will not be available on Friday, due to the celebration of Republic Day across India. The Republic Day is a very special moment for the country as it marks the Constitution of India which came into effect on January 26, 1950. Since this occasion is a national holiday, it is a compulsory holiday for schools, offices, banks, the public and hence the stock market too.

On January 26, trading in equities, derivatives and the SLB segment will be shut on BSE and NSE.

On Republic Day, flag-hoisting ceremonies and parades by armed forces and school children are held in different parts of the country. The grandest and most important of these parades is held at Kartavya Path in New Delhi, which showcases a multi-hued image of the country's rich cultural heritage and military prowess. With the themes of 'Viksit Bharat' and 'Bharat - Loktantra ki Matruka', the 75th Republic Day Parade at Kartavya Path on January 26, 2024 will be women-centric.

Notably, RBI categorises bank holidays into three sections namely -- 1) Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act; Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holidays; and Banks' Closing of Accounts. The Republic Day holiday is under RBI's Negotiable Instruments Act.

Hence, just like the stock market, banks will be closed too.

On Thursday, the market ended the trading week in a red zone with the Sensex erasing the 71,000 mark and Nifty 50 below 21,400 levels. The 30-scrip ended at 70,700.67, down by 359.64 points or 0.51%, and that of Nifty 50 closed at 21,352.60, lower by 101.35 points or 0.47%.

On the latest market performance, Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd said, "Markets resumed decline and shed nearly half a percent amid mixed cues. After the weak start, buying in select heavyweights triggered some rebound in the middle however continued pressure in the private banking majors capped upside. Eventually, Nifty settled at 21352 levels; down by 0.47%."

Meanwhile, he also added, "a mixed trend continued on the sectoral front wherein energy and realty edged higher while IT, pharma and FMCG witnessed profit taking. The broader indices also witnessed varied moves, with midcap in red and smallcap gaining over half a per cent."

Looking ahead, Mishra said, "The prevailing pressure in banking majors is largely weighing on the sentiments however selective buying in others is capping the damage so far. This diverging trend indicates further consolidation in the index so traders should stay focused on stock selection and trade management until we see some clarity."

Also, Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities said the market is witnessing a lot of volatility ahead of the Budget with a negative bias as investors further booked profits to cut down their long positions on the expiry day. Continuous outflows of foreign funds from the domestic equity market have been denting the sentiment over the past one week as they have net sold local shares worth more than Rs 33,000 crore in January so far. A rise in US bond yields coupled with mixed Q3 earnings so far and uptick in international crude oil prices due to simmering tensions in West Asia has been making investors jittery about the near term prospects."

On the technical front, Tapse added, "With the immediate resistance being at 21,400 mark, we expect the market to go down further towards 21,100 and 21,000 eventually, and if it breaks 21000 level we can witness more selling pressure up to 20900-20500 levels. Any trend change would happen only once the Nifty surpasses the 21,500 mark."