Stock Market Timings in India: Pre-Open, Normal and Closing Sessions

The Indian stock market opens at 9:00 am with a 15-minute pre-open auction, and normal trading runs from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm, Monday to Friday. Since 3 August 2026, stocks that have futures and options stop continuous trading at 3:15 pm and go into a closing auction. Futures and options themselves now trade until 3:40 pm.

Key facts

SEBI introduced the closing auction through a circular dated 16 January 2026, and it took effect on 3 August 2026. On 11 September 2026 SEBI released a consultation paper reviewing the closing auction, market timings and derivatives settlement. Until a final circular follows, the timings above apply.

Pre-open session: 9:00 am to 9:15 am

The day starts with a call auction, not continuous trading. Orders are collected for a few minutes and then matched at a single opening price, the price at which the most shares can change hands. NSE’s schedule for the cash market is:

Stop-loss, immediate-or-cancel and disclosed-quantity orders are not accepted in pre-open. Unmatched limit orders move to the normal market with their original time stamp.

Futures also have a pre-open session. It covers current-month stock and index futures, and next-month futures in the last five trading days before expiry. The timetable is the same 9:00 am to 9:15 am. NSE’s circular put it into effect from 8 December 2025. Options do not have a pre-open session.

Shares listing on the day of an IPO, and re-listed shares, go through a special pre-open session instead. Order entry runs from 9:00 am to 9:45 am, and those shares start normal trading at 10:00 am. Our guide to IPO listing day covers that session.

Normal market hours: 9:15 am to 3:30 pm

From 9:15 am, buy and sell orders match continuously on price and time priority. Stocks without derivatives trade this way until 3:30 pm. Their closing price is the volume-weighted average of trades between 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm.

Stocks that have F&O contracts stop continuous trading at 3:15 pm. Their closing price now comes from the auction described below. NSE also runs a T+0 settlement market for a set list of stocks from 9:15 am to 1:30 pm.

Closing Auction Session and post-close session

The Closing Auction Session (CAS) applies only to cash-market stocks on which derivatives are available. It lasts 20 minutes:

1. 3:15 pm to 3:20 pm: continuous trading stops and the exchange sets a reference price, the volume-weighted average price of trades from 3:00 pm to 3:15 pm.
2. 3:20 pm to 3:25 pm: you can place, modify or cancel limit and market orders.
3. 3:25 pm to 3:30 pm: limit orders only; entry closes at a random moment in the last 2 minutes.
4. 3:30 pm to 3:35 pm: orders are matched and the closing price is set.
5. 3:35 pm to 3:50 pm: transition to the post-close session.

During CAS the price band is 3% either side of the reference price. Open limit orders from the day carry into the auction, except stop-loss orders, iceberg orders and orders priced outside that band.

The post-close session runs from 3:50 pm to 4:00 pm. You can place only market orders, and every trade executes at the day’s closing price. A stock that did not trade in the normal market cannot trade in this session.

F&O, currency and commodity timings on NSE

The F&O close moved from 3:30 pm to 3:40 pm on 3 August 2026, the same day the closing auction began. The extra 10 minutes let traders adjust positions after the cash-market closing price is known. For currency trading hours and global sessions in IST, see our page on forex market timings.

Block deal windows

Block deals are large trades matched in two separate windows, apart from the normal market:

• Morning window: 8:45 am to 9:00 am
• Afternoon window: 2:05 pm to 2:20 pm

Retail investors rarely use these windows, but block deal reports explain large price moves at the open or mid-afternoon.

After-market orders (AMO)

An after-market order is a broker facility, not an exchange session. You place the order in your trading app after hours, and the broker sends it to the exchange when the next session opens. Each broker sets its own AMO window, so check your broker’s app for the exact times.

1. Open your trading app after the market closes.
2. Select the stock and choose the AMO option on the order screen.
3. Enter a limit price rather than a market order, because the opening price can differ from the last close.
4. Check the next morning whether the order was executed at the open.

New to placing orders? Our step-by-step guide on how to buy and sell shares covers order types, and stock market basics explains how exchanges work.

Weekends and holidays

NSE and BSE are shut on Saturdays, Sundays and declared trading holidays. The next weekday holidays in 2026 are 2 October, 20 October, 10 November, 24 November and 25 December. Muhurat trading on Diwali, Sunday 8 November 2026, is a special short session whose timings have not yet been notified. See our 2026 stock market holiday list and Muhurat trading guide.

Frequently asked questions

What time does the Indian stock market open?

The pre-open session starts at 9:00 am and normal trading begins at 9:15 am, Monday to Friday.

What is the stock market closing time?

Normal trading ends at 3:30 pm for stocks without F&O. Stocks with F&O end continuous trading at 3:15 pm and get their closing price from an auction that ends by 3:35 pm.

Till what time can I trade futures and options?

Equity F&O on NSE trades until 3:40 pm from 3 August 2026. Before that date it closed at 3:30 pm.

Can I buy shares at 9:05 am?

You can place an order in the pre-open session, but it executes only at the opening price set around 9:10 am to 9:12 am, or moves to the normal market if unmatched.

What is the post-market session?

From 3:50 pm to 4:00 pm you can place market orders that execute at the day’s closing price. Prices do not move in this session.

Does the stock market open on Saturday?

No. NSE and BSE trade only on weekdays that are not declared holidays, apart from special sessions such as Muhurat trading or notified mock sessions.

Are BSE timings the same as NSE?

Yes. BSE’s notice on the closing auction applies the same 3:15 pm to 3:35 pm auction and 3:50 pm post-close start as NSE.

Sources

• Introduction of Closing Auction Session in the equity cash segment, 16 January 2026 — SEBI (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Consultation papers, including review of CAS and market timings (11 Sep 2026) — SEBI (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Closing Auction Session (CAS) — NSE (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Pre-open session, equity market — NSE (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Pre-open session, equity derivatives — NSE (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Special pre-open session — NSE (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Market timings by segment — NSE (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Equity market segment: post-close session rules — NSE (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• Introduction of Closing Auction Session, notice 20260610-41 — BSE (checked 16 Sep 2026)
• What are the market timings — Zerodha support (checked 16 Sep 2026)