The stock market is open from Monday to Friday. The trading timings for different segments are as follows:
Equity market timings
SEBI's Closing Auction Session (CAS), introduced on August 3, 2026, changes the closing timings for stocks in the Futures and Options (F&O) segment. The table below compares the previous and current timings:
| Session | Previous | Current (F&O stocks) | Current (non-F&O stocks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-market | 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM | 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM | 9:00 AM to 9:15 AM |
| Normal trading | 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM | 9:15 AM to 3:15 PM | 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM |
| Closing Auction Session (CAS) | Not applicable | 3:15 PM to 3:30 PM | Not applicable |
| Post-market | 3:40 PM to 4:00 PM | 3:50 PM to 4:00 PM | 3:50 PM to 4:00 PM |
Pre-market session (9:00 AM - 9:15 AM)
The pre-market session was introduced to minimise volatility and to discover the opening prices of shares during the daily market opening. It is further divided into three phases, each serving a specific function, as follows:
- 9:00 AM - 9:07 AM: In this period, clients can place or modify orders.
- 9:07 AM - 9:08 AM: The stock exchange matches buy and sell orders placed during the first 7 minutes to determine a stock's opening price.
- 9:08 AM - 9:15 AM: Buffer period during which orders cannot be placed, modified, or cancelled. This allows the stock exchanges to finalise and match orders, ensuring that opening prices are set accurately.
Normal trading session
- For non-F&O stocks, normal trading runs from 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM.
- For F&O stocks, normal trading runs from 9:15 AM to 3:15 PM, after which Closing Auction Session (CAS) determines the closing price.
Closing Auction Session for F&O stocks (3:15 PM to 3:30 PM)
SEBI introduced CAS to replace the previous method of determining the closing price for F&O stocks. Instead of calculating a weighted average of trades over the last 30 minutes, the exchange collects all buy and sell orders at the end of the session and identifies the price at which the most orders match. This becomes the closing price.
CAS runs in the following phases:
- 3:15 PM to 3:20 PM: Trading stops for F&O stocks, and the exchange accepts no new orders. Existing open orders carry forward, except stop loss orders, iceberg orders, and orders outside the 3% band around the reference price. F&O contracts on these stocks continue to trade until 3:40 PM.
- 3:20 PM to 3:25 PM: You can place, modify, or cancel both market and limit orders.
- 3:25 PM to 3:30 PM: You can only place, modify, or cancel limit orders. This phase closes at a random time between 3:28 PM and 3:30 PM, after which the exchange matches all orders at the price where the most trades can happen. This becomes the official closing price.
Post-market session (3:50 PM - 4:00 PM)
The post-market session occurs after normal trading hours and allows investors to place orders to buy or sell securities at the closing price of the day. A stock's closing price is determined by calculating the weighted average of all the trade prices between 3:00 PM and 3:30 PM for a non-F&O stock. The F&O stock's closing price is determined by the Closing Auction Session (CAS).
There will be no price movement between 3:50 PM and 4:00 PM, and all the trades will get executed at the closing price.
Currency market timings
The stock market timings for the currency segment are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Unlike the equity segment, which has pre- and post-market sessions, the currency segment operates strictly within these hours.
The RBI mandates that traders must have an underlying
contracted exposure to foreign currency
if they wish to trade in the currency derivatives segment.
Commodity market timings
Commodities are traded from Monday to Friday. The market timings for trading commodities may vary depending on daylight saving time. The trading hours for different types of commodities are as follows:
- Agricultural Commodities: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Internationally referenceable agricultural commodities: 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
-
Non-agricultural Commodities:
- 9:00 AM to 11:30 PM (March to November)
- 9:00 AM to 11:55 PM (November to March during daylight saving time)
The table below outlines the classification of commodities into agri and non-agri categories, along with their specific sub-sections and included commodities:
| Commodity type | Sub-section | Included commodities |
|
Non-Agri Commodities
|
Base Metals | Aluminium, Alumini, Copper, Lead, Lead mini, Nickel, Zinc, Zinc mini and MCX Metldex |
| Bullion | Gold, Gold mini, Gold Guinea, Gold petal, Silver, Silver mini, Silver micro and MCX Bulldex | |
| Energy | Crude oil, Crude mini, Natural gas, Natural gas mini and MCX Enrgdex | |
|
Agri Commodities
|
Internationally referenceable agri commodities | Cotton candy and Kapas |
| All other agri commodities | Mentha oil |
Things to keep in mind
- The markets are closed on trading holidays, and the list of holidays for 2025 can be viewed on the stock market holiday calendar.
- When a stock is listed after an IPO, it begins trading at 10:00 AM on the day of its listing, unlike regular stocks, which start at 9:15 AM. For more details, refer to the IPO listing schedule.