Stock market holiday: Is equity trading shut on March 3 for the festival?

The domestic financial landscape is witnessing a pause today, March 3, 2026, as major Indian stock exchanges suspend trading activities in observance of the Holi festivities. While the official market holiday is being marked today, the broader national celebration of the festival of colours is slated for Wednesday, March 4. This break provides a brief respite for market participants following a period of intense selling pressure and heightened volatility that has gripped the equity segments in recent sessions. Operations across the commodity segments While the equity markets remain completely shut, the commodity sector is seeing a bifurcated schedule. The Multi Commodity Exchange of India, or MCX, has suspended its morning operations from 9 am until 5 pm, though it is scheduled to reopen for the evening session to accommodate global trading trends. Conversely, the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, known as NCDEX, has opted to remain entirely closed for both sessions today. These adjustments are standard procedure during major national holidays, ensuring that while local traders observe the festival, there remains a window for those engaged in international commodity movements later in the day. Recent performance and technical outlook The break comes immediately after a bruising session for the frontline indices. Both the Nifty and the BSE Sensex experienced significant retreats on Monday, largely driven by sharp declines in the financial, automotive, and consumer goods sectors. The Nifty slipped by over 300 points to settle around the 24,865 mark, while the Sensex shed more than 1,000 points. This downturn was accompanied by a massive 25 percent surge in the India VIX, indicating a sharp rise in market anxiety. Analyzing the current trajectory, Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President of Research at Religare Broking noted that the sharp decline has pushed the Nifty closer to its swing low around the 24,600 level, and a decisive break below this could extend the correction towards the 24,400 mark. Regarding potential recoveries, he mentioned that “On the upside, the 25,000–25,250 zone is likely to act as an immediate hurdle in case of any recovery. Given the heightened volatility and global uncertainty, we reiterate our advice to maintain a cautious stance, keep position sizes light and focus on disciplined risk management,” he said. Remaining holidays for the 2026 calendar Looking ahead, the exchange holiday calendar remains quite busy. March will see two further closures on the 26th and 31st for Shri Ram Navami and Shri Mahavir Jayanti. Moving into the second quarter, April will feature breaks for Good Friday and Ambedkar Jayanti, followed by Maharashtra Day in May. A notable detail in the current schedule is the absence of a weekday holiday for Diwali, as it falls on a Sunday. However, the tradition of Muhurat Trading will still be upheld on Sunday, November 8, 2026, with specific timings to be confirmed by the exchanges at a later date.