Indian stock markets open today as NSE, BSE hold special trading session

The special trading session, which is focused on the equity and equity derivatives segments, aims to evaluate the disaster preparedness of the exchanges in the event of major disruptions, reports said.

Earlier on March 2, the Indian stock markets held a special trading session.

According to reports, the last three special Saturday trading sessions were muted, with benchmark indices remaining in tight ranges and stock-specific action taking the spotlight due to individual news flows and actions.

Saturday's (May 18) primary session for the cash market started with the morning block deal window from 8:45 am to 9 am, followed by the pre-open session from 9 am to 9:08 am, while the regular trading for the primary session ran from 9:15 am to 10 am, followed by a break until 11:15 am.

First phase of the special session ended in the positive territory as the NSE Nifty 50 ended 0.07 percent higher to settle at 22,481.90, while the BSE Sensex jumped 0.06 percent to 73,959.64, and Bank Nifty index ended higher by 0.07 percent to settle at 48,149.10.

For the special session's second phase at the disaster recovery site, the pre-open session ran from 11:15 am to 11:23 am, with normal trading scheduled from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. Post-close order closing and modifications were allowed until 1:00 pm.

Like the first phase, the benchmark equity indices ended the second phase of the special trading session in the positive territory, with the NSE Nifty 50 ending 36 points or 0.16 percent higher to settle at 22,502, and the BSE Sensex gaining 90 points or 0.12 percent to 74,005.94, while Bank Nifty index closed higher by 83.85 points or 0.17 percent to settle at 48,199.50.

In both phases of the special trading session, media and realty stocks outperformed the other sectoral indices, as per reports.