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Investing

IPO Listing Day: Listing Time, Pre-Open Session and Selling

IPO shares list three working days after the issue closes. A pre-open auction runs from 9 am, and normal trading starts at 10 am.

VD

Written by Vikram Desai

Published 11 October 2026·7 min read

On this page10 sections
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IPO shares list on the third working day after the issue closes (T+3). On listing day, a special pre-open auction runs from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and sets the opening price. Normal trading starts at 10:00 am. You can sell allotted shares with a limit order during the auction, or with any order type once normal trading begins.

Key facts

Item Rule
Listing date T+3 working days, where T is the issue closing day
Shares in your demat By 6 pm on T+2
Order entry in pre-open 9:00 am to 9:45 am, closing at a random moment between 9:35 and 9:45
Order matching 9:45 am to 9:55 am; opening price set
Buffer 9:55 am to 10:00 am
Normal trading 10:00 am to 3:30 pm
Orders allowed in pre-open Limit orders only
Price band after 10 am 5% for issues up to ₹250 crore; 20% above ₹250 crore

The T+3 listing timeline

SEBI cut the gap between issue closing and listing from six working days to three. T+3 became compulsory for issues opening on or after 1 December 2023. The steps run like this:

ItemDetails
T (closing day)UPI mandates must be approved by 5 pm.
T+1the basis of allotment is approved by 9 pm.
T+2money is debited or unblocked, and shares are credited to demat accounts by 6 pm.
T+3the shares list and trading begins.

Take the NSE IPO as an example. Its bidding closes on Monday, 21 September 2026, and its red herring prospectus gives 24 September as the indicative date for trading to begin on BSE. Our NSE IPO page tracks that issue, and our guide to checking IPO allotment status covers T+1 and T+2 in detail.

For the full list of issues due to list this week, see our IPO calendar. This page covers what happens on the listing day itself.

Special pre-open session for IPO shares

A newly listed share does not open like other stocks. It goes through a 60-minute call auction, which SEBI introduced in January 2012. The same session applies to SME IPOs on NSE Emerge and BSE SME, and its timings are the same on both exchanges.

Time What happens
9:00 am to 9:45 am Enter, change or cancel orders. The window shuts at a random moment in the last ten minutes.
9:45 am to 9:55 am Orders are matched and the opening price is fixed. No changes or cancellations.
9:55 am to 10:00 am Buffer period before normal trading.

Market orders are rejected in this session. No formal price band applies, but the exchanges set a dummy band to block fat-finger orders. SEBI’s May 2026 consultation paper describes the current practice:

  • Mainboard IPOs: the band starts at 50% below to 100% above the issue price and widens in 10% steps.
  • SME IPOs: the band is 90% either side of the issue price, and the upside is not widened.

An order priced outside the band freezes and is then cancelled. For issues of up to ₹250 crore, your broker blocks 100% of the order value when you place the order.

NSE changed its regular 9:00 to 9:15 am pre-open for other stocks on 7 September 2026. The IPO session described here runs separately.

How the listing price is discovered

The opening price, often called the listing price, is the equilibrium price of the auction. It is the price at which the largest number of shares can change hands.

  1. If two or more prices give the same volume, the exchange picks the one with the smallest unmatched quantity.
  2. If there is still a tie, it picks the price closest to the issue price.
  3. Orders that match at the equilibrium price are executed at that price.
  4. Unmatched limit orders move into normal trading at their own limit price, in price-time priority.
  5. If no equilibrium price is found, the share opens for normal trading with the issue price as its base.

When the prices found on NSE and BSE differ by more than the stock’s price band, the exchanges set a common equilibrium price. It is the volume-weighted average of the two, and both exchanges apply the same band to it.

Placing a sell order on listing day

  1. On the evening of T+2, check that the shares appear in your demat holdings.
  2. If your broker needs it, authorise the sale with your CDSL TPIN and OTP. You can skip this step if you have signed a Demat Debit and Pledge Instruction (DDPI).
  3. Between 9:00 and 9:45 am, open the stock in your broker app and watch the indicative equilibrium price.
  4. To sell in the auction, place a limit sell order. A lower limit price makes a match more likely, but your order still fills at the equilibrium price.
  5. If your order does not match, it moves into normal trading at your limit price. Change or cancel it after 10:00 am if needed.
  6. To sell after the opening instead, place a limit or market order after 10:00 am.

You can buy a newly listed share the same way. Brokers may restrict intraday trading in newly listed shares, as the next section explains.

Price bands on listing day

Once normal trading starts, the price can move only within a band. The band is set on the equilibrium price, or on the issue price if the auction found no price.

Issue size Listing-day band Other condition
Up to ₹250 crore 5% Trades in the trade-for-trade segment for the first 10 days
Above ₹250 crore 20% None under this rule

In the trade-for-trade segment every trade must be settled by delivery. You cannot buy and sell the same share intraday to square off. Most SME IPOs and small mainboard issues fall in the ₹250 crore bracket. A large issue such as the NSE IPO, reported at about ₹22,562 crore, gets the 20% band.

Tax on listing gains

Selling on listing day gives you a short-term capital gain, because you held the shares for 12 months or less. For listed shares sold with securities transaction tax, the rate is 20% plus surcharge and cess. For sales from 1 April 2026, this falls under Section 196 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaced Section 111A of the 1961 Act. See taxation of stocks for losses and set-off.

Proposed changes to the listing auction

On 21 May 2026, SEBI proposed changes to the pre-open auction for IPOs and re-listed shares, with comments due by 11 June 2026. For IPOs, the paper proposes that exchanges widen the dummy band automatically and at the same time, including for SME IPOs. Where orders sit only at the edge of the band, the band would widen only after orders from at least five unique PANs. The issue price would stay as the base price. We found no final circular on SEBI’s website as of 16 September 2026, so today’s rules still apply.

Frequently asked questions

What is the IPO listing time?

The pre-open auction starts at 9:00 am and normal trading starts at 10:00 am on the listing day, on both NSE and BSE.

Can I sell IPO shares in the pre-open session?

Yes, with a limit order between 9:00 and 9:45 am. If it matches, it executes at the equilibrium price.

Why was my market order rejected at 9:30 am?

Market orders are not accepted in the special pre-open session for IPO shares. Use a limit order, or wait until 10:00 am.

What is the upper circuit on IPO listing day?

5% of the equilibrium price for issues up to ₹250 crore, and 20% for larger issues.

Can I do intraday trading in a newly listed IPO?

Not in issues of up to ₹250 crore during their first 10 trading days, because they trade in the trade-for-trade segment. Larger issues have no such rule, but your broker may still restrict it.

What happens if no listing price is discovered?

The share moves to normal trading with the issue price as its base price, unless another exchange discovered a price.

When will IPO shares show in my demat account?

By 6 pm on T+2, the day before listing.

Sources

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