On February 1st, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be announcing the Union Budget for 2026.
On Thursday, Jan 16, both stock exchanges (BSE and NSE) announced that on Feb 1st, they will remain open for trading just like regular days. The timing of trading will be the same as normal trading days from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm. The pre-market will be open from 9:00 am to 9:08 am.
BSE announced in the circular that normal trading, like F&O, equity, and commodity derivatives, will be open for trading on Feb 1, 2026.
Meanwhile, specific sessions, such as T+0 settlement trading and Auction sessions for settlement defaults, will not be held on Sundays.
As we all know, in India the stock market is usually closed for trading on weekends like Saturdays and Sundays unless there is some special occasion. In fact, since the year 2000, this is the first time that the Union Budget will be announced on Sunday, Feb 1st.
Last year, the Union Budget 2025 was presented by Nirmala Sitharam on Saturday. February 1 has become an official date for the Union Budget announcement in recent years.
This will be the ninth consecutive Union Budget presentation by our Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. On January 12, the Lok Sabha speaker confirmed that the Union Budget for 2026 will be announced at 11 AM on Sunday.
The Union Budget is an annual routine that indicates how the government plans future earnings and expenditures. In the Union Budget 2026, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman will present new schemes and plans for the upcoming year.
With the Union Budget 2026, investors are expecting changes in India’s tax system. They are asking to lower the tax rate to secure the long-term investors and boost their confidence in the market.
