NSE, BSE Saturday special trading session: Know more about change in timings, key details

Markets open, to be closed on Monday: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) conducted a special trading session in the equity and equity derivative segments on May 18 (Saturday) to check its preparedness to handle major disruption or failure at the primary site.

The special live trading session had an intra-day switchover from the Primary Site (PR) to the Disaster Recovery (DR) site. In a circular, the exchange had last week said there will be two sessions -- the first from 9:15 am to 10 am from the PR, and the second from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm from the DR site. 

Changed timings

However, the NSE on Saturday revised timings for special market session. The first session was held with pre-opening from 9am to 9:08am. The live market session was held between 9:15am to 10am. The second session of pre-opening was held between 11:23am to 11:30am, while live market session was held between 11:45 am to 12:40 pm. In the second session, the cash market closed at 12:45pm, while F&O closed at 12:30, as per an NSE circular. 

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) had earlier jointly conducted a special live trading session on March 2. The trading day was segmented into two phases, facilitating the transition from the primary site to the disaster recovery site—a crucial element in evaluating the market's resilience.

Movers and shakers 

While the equity markets remained largely unchanged during the special trading session, Zee Ent reported which reported Q4 earnings better than estimates, saw stocks rises 4 per cent. Astral fell 5 per cent as earnings are below estimates & lower YoY. Nestle India was the top Nifty 50 gainer, adding 2.23 per cent, as shareholders rejected a proposal to increase royalty payments to its Swiss parent. Zydus Lifesciences climbed 5 per cent after surpassing profit estimates for the March quarter, boosting the pharma index by 0.67 per cent. However, JSW Steel shed 1.81 per cent after reporting a drop in fourth-quarter profit. Metals gained 0.53 per cent, supported by China's efforts to bolster its struggling property sector. Small-cap and mid-cap stocks outperformed blue chips, rising by 0.82 per cent and 0.51 per cent, respectively. Capital markets will remain closed for a holiday on Monday in view of the polling day in financial capital Mumbai for Lok Sabha elections, with trading set to resume on Tuesday.