An In-Depth Guide to Stock Market Timings in India

The stock market in India is not open 24x7. Rather, there are predetermined stock market timings during which the market is active and trading occurs. If you are a retail investor, you need to be aware of these timings, so you can plan your trades accordingly.

There are two major stock exchanges in India, namely the Bombay stock exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The stock market timings for both of these exchanges are the same. Let’s take a closer look at the different share market timings in India.

Stock market timings in India
The stock market timings can be divided into different categories depending on the activities that are supported during each period. Check out the three key segments that go into making up a typical trading day in the Indian stock market.

1. Segment 1: Pre-opening session
   The pre-opening time lasts from 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM. During this window of time, there will be no active buy or sell orders for shares, bonds and other tradable securities. In other words, orders will not be executed during this period. The pre-opening session in the Indian share market can further be classified into the following three parts:

• 9:00 AM to 9:08 AM
  You can place pre-market orders during this period. However, they will not be executed until the normal trading session begins. The orders placed first will be fulfilled on priority. If you place an order during this segment, you can make changes to your order till 9:08 AM only. After this 8-minute window, no new orders can be placed till 9:15 AM.
• 9:08 AM to 9:12 AM
  This is a crucial segment in the Indian share market because price discovery and price matching occur during this period. The demand and supply are matched and compared in descending order, and the final opening prices for various stocks for the upcoming trading session are determined by using a multilateral order matching process.

• 9:12 AM to 9:15 AM
  This is simply a segment in the pre-opening session that bridges the pre-market segment with the regular trading session. No new orders can be placed during this time.

   

2. Segment 2: Normal trading hours
   The normal trading hours in the Indian stock market range from 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM. These hours are what may be typically known as the regular stock market timings in India. All orders placed during these trading hours will be executed as per the bilateral order matching system, where buy and sell orders are matched and prices are determined based on the demand and supply of different shares and securities. As a result of such bilateral order matching, there may be a great deal of price volatility in the stock market. This leads to fluctuations and changes in the prices of securities. It is to control this kind of volatility that the pre-opening session — with its multilateral order matching process — was introduced in the stock market timings in India.

    

3. Segment 3: Post-closing session
   The post-closing session is that segment of the stock market timings that occurs after the normal trading hours. It can again be divided into two parts, as outlined below.

• 3:30 PM to 3:40 PM
  During this period, the closing prices of securities are calculated as a weighted average of the prices from 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM. This is also applicable to benchmark indices and sectoral indices in the market.
• 3:40 PM to 4:00 PM
  In this window of time, you can place bids for the next day’s trade. These bids are confirmed only if there is no shortage of buyers or sellers. No matter what the opening price of the securities may be in the following trading session, these bids are executed at the stipulated price only.

Special trading hours: After Market Orders (AMO) and Muhurat trading
Aside from the pre-market, regular and post-closing sessions outlined above, there are also special trading hours that you should know about.

• After Market Orders (AMOs) 
  After market orders (AMOs) can be placed after the post-closing session for securities of select companies. These orders will be executed at the opening prices of the following session.
• Muhurat trading
  Muhurat Trading is a special one-hour trading session conducted on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. Each year, the stock exchanges determine the window of time during which this special trading session will occur.

Conclusion
Knowing the share market timings in India can help you plan your trades smartly and sensibly. That said, ensure that you do not enter into any risky trades right after the stock market opening time in India or just before the market closing time. Take some time to understand the direction in which the market is moving and keep an eye on the news to identify any potential market triggers. This will help you utilise the stock market timings optimally and minimise losses.