Indian Market Holidays and Expiry Calendar 2026: Complete Trading Calendar

Indian Market Calendar 2026

Important dates for Indian stock and derivatives traders.

Trading Holidays

Weekly Expiry Dates

• NIFTY: Every Thursday
• Bank NIFTY: Every Wednesday
• FINNIFTY: Every Tuesday
• Stock options: Last Thursday of month

Settlement Days

• T+1 settlement: Equity delivery
• T+2 settlement: F&O segment
• Expiry day: All positions squared off or settled

Important Dates

• Budget Day: February 1
• RBI Policy: February, April, June, August, October, December
• Quarterly results: January, April, July, October

SEBI Disclaimer

Trading involves risk of loss. Verify dates on NSE website. This article is for educational purposes only.

Why the 2026 Calendar Shapes Trading

The trading calendar is the skeleton of the options year: it fixes every weekly and monthly expiry, every market holiday and every settlement window, and a trader who knows it in advance plans positions, avoids auto-closures and capitalises on compressed weeks. In India the exchanges publish the holiday schedule well ahead, so there is no excuse for being caught off guard by a closed trading day that shifts an expiry forward or by a shortened session that alters settlement timing.

Holidays matter doubly in options because a market closure moves a settlement to the previous business day. A weekly expiry that would fall on a holiday is rescheduled, changing the expiry weekday for that week and affecting the Greeks, particularly theta and gamma, of every open position. Knowing this in advance lets a trader decide whether to close, roll or hold before the calendar forces the decision.

The Structure of Weekly and Monthly Expiries

• Weekly expiries: Nifty and Bank Nifty settle on set weekdays, creating a recurring cadence.
• Monthly expiries: the last business day of the month resets the full contract series.
• Quarterly and index-level series: longer-dated contracts settle on defined series dates.
• Holiday shifts: any scheduled expiry landing on a holiday is moved to the prior trading day.

The Major Holiday Windows to Watch

Indian market holidays cluster around festivals and national days, and each can shorten a trading week or shift an expiry. The Republic Day, Holi and Ramzan-related holidays in the first quarter, festivals such as Diwali and Eid through the year, and Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti in August and October all close the market at scheduled points. In addition to full holidays, some sessions are shortened for special reasons, and the exchange announces these adjustments in advance, affecting the close time and intraday strategy.

Planning Around Settlement and Results

A single month can contain multiple weekly expiries, the monthly settlement, series rollovers and a tide of corporate results. If a major results date collides with an expiry, the volatility combines, and a prudent trader either avoids holding a credit spread through it or deliberately positions a defined-risk trade to capture the expected move. Mapping the calendar marks these collision points so the trader can route the strategies they intend rather than discover the conflict mid-position.

Building a Personal 2026 Calendar

1. List every weekly and monthly expiry exact date for the full year.
2. Overlay all market holidays and any rescheduled settlements.
3. Add the results, budget and policy-announcement dates relevant to your instruments.
4. Mark the collision weeks where an event lands on an expiry and plan around them.

Using the Calendar for an Edge

The calendar is not merely a schedule to avoid surprises; it is a source of advantage. Knowing a holiday-shortened week compresses the time for a strategy to work, a trader sizes accordingly. Knowing an expiry lands the day after a major event, the trader prices in the expected volatility. The trader who plans the month around the calendar enters and exits with intent, while the one who ignores it reacts to forced settlements and event collisions. Converting the published schedule into a deliberate trading plan is one of the simplest and most reliable edges the market offers.

A Calendar-Aware Trading Year

Approaching 2026 with the calendar firmly in hand transforms the year from a series of surprises into a planned sequence of opportunities. Every weekly expiry is a decision point, every holiday a scheduling constraint and every event a volatility catalyst, all knowable in advance. By building a complete, annotated calendar and reviewing it weekly, the options trader treats time itself as a resource to be managed, turning the fixed rhythm of settlements and holidays into structure that supports rather than undermines the strategy.