Market Holiday: Why BSE and NSE Are Shut on October 2, 2025

If you logged into your trading app this morning expecting to see the usual market buzz, you were met with stillness. Rest assured, your connection is fine. The Indian stock markets, including the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), are closed today, October 2, 2025.

The reason for this trading halt is the rare dual occasion of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra, both significant holidays celebrated nationwide. This means there will be no trading in the equity, derivative, or commodity segments for the entire day. Trading is scheduled to resume as normal on Friday, October 3, 2025.

While the markets take a well-deserved breather, it provides a perfect opportunity to analyze the spectacular rally from the previous session and understand its implications for investors.

Market Snaps Losing Streak with a Powerful Pre-Holiday Rally

Just before today’s holiday, the market snapped an eight-day losing streak with a powerful comeback. On Wednesday, October 1, the BSE Sensex surged 715.69 points (0.89%) to close at 80,983.31, while the NSE Nifty 50 jumped 225.20 points (0.92%) to finish at 24,836.30.

This rally was a much-needed dose of optimism for investors who had witnessed the benchmarks fall over 3% during the prolonged losing streak. The recovery was broad-based, with banking, financial services, and auto stocks leading the charge.

So, what was the catalyst for this sudden shift in sentiment? The hero of the hour was the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

RBI’s Steady Hand: Repo Rate Unchanged, Boosting Investor Confidence

The primary driver for yesterday’s rally was the outcome of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The central bank decided to keep the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 5.5%, maintaining its “neutral” policy stance.

This decision was largely in line with market expectations, but it was the RBI’s commentary that truly lifted spirits. Governor Shaktikanta Das highlighted that the growth-inflation dynamics have become more favourable, and the overall inflation outlook has turned more benign. The RBI even revised its average headline inflation forecast for fiscal year 2026 downwards to 2.6% from 3.1% earlier.

For retail investors, this is welcome news. A stable interest rate environment is generally positive for equity markets as it reduces borrowing costs for companies, potentially boosting their profitability and growth prospects. The RBI’s confidence in the economy’s resilience provided a strong positive signal, encouraging investors to buy at lower levels after the recent correction.

Several other measures announced by the RBI also helped boost specific sectors:

• Higher Loan Limits: The RBI increased the ceiling for loans against shares from ₹20 lakh to ₹1 crore and raised the IPO financing limit to ₹25 lakh. This gave a direct boost to banking and financial stocks.
• Infrastructure Lending Boost: The central bank also announced regulatory changes to cut risk weights on NBFC lending to high-quality infrastructure projects, causing a rally in infrastructure financing stocks.

Sector Spotlight: Who Led the Charge?

The rally on October 1 was led by strong performances from several key stocks.

• Top Gainers: Tata Motors was the star performer, surging over 5.5% after the demerger of its passenger and commercial vehicle businesses became effective on October 1. Banking heavyweights like Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank also saw significant gains.
• Broader Market Participation: It wasn’t just large-caps that joined the party. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices also advanced, indicating healthy, broad-based buying interest.

What to Watch When Markets Reopen

When the markets reopen on Friday, October 3, investors will be watching several key factors that could influence the trading session.

• Global Cues: With Indian markets closed, traders will look to overnight movements in the US and Asian markets for direction. Any significant global economic data or geopolitical developments will be on the radar.
• Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs): FIIs have been net sellers in the past few weeks, a major reason for the recent market correction. It will be crucial to see if the RBI’s positive commentary encourages them to resume buying. On Tuesday, FIIs sold equities worth ₹2,327.09 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹5,761.63 crore, showcasing the strength of domestic flows.
• Crude Oil Prices: A decline in global oil benchmark Brent crude is a positive for India, as it helps keep inflation in check and reduces the import bill. Monitoring its trajectory will be important.
• Technical Levels: For the Nifty 50, the 24,500 level has acted as strong support. Now that the index has closed comfortably above 24,800, this will be the immediate level to watch. A sustained move above this could pave the way for further gains.

Today’s holiday provides a moment of calm after a volatile period. The strong rebound on Wednesday, backed by a confident RBI, has set a positive tone. When trading resumes, the key will be to see if this bullish momentum can be sustained.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Please conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.