Stock Markets Closed Today For Guru Nanak Jayanti, Other Asian Indices Gain

Mumbai: The Indian stock markets are closed on Friday in observance of Prakash Gurpurb, marking the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.

This occasion, widely celebrated across India and the Sikh diaspora worldwide, commemorates the teachings and legacy of Guru Nanak Dev, promoting messages of equality, compassion, and service to humanity.

The holiday meant that the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange (NSE), and other major financial markets, including the currency and commodity markets, were closed for both equity and derivative trading throughout the day.

Markets will resume their regular trading schedule on Monday, November 18.

In other Asian markets on Friday, Japan's Nikkei index gained 0.8 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up by 0.54 per cent, along with Taiwan's weighted index, which also gained 0.5 per cent.

However, South Korea's KOSPI index declined by 0.4 per cent at the time of filing this report. Brent crude is currently trading at USD 72.13 per barrel.

On Thursday, Indian benchmark stock indices slumped for the sixth straight day, touching a new multi-month low.

The Sensex closed at 77,580.31 points, down 110.64 points or 0.14 per cent, while the Nifty closed at 23,532.70 points, down 26.35 points or 0.11 per cent.

Sectoral indices showed mixed trends; Nifty bank, auto, and media were in the green, while FMCG, pharma, and PSU bank were in the red.

The sustained fall in the indices is due to a range of factors, including relatively weak Q2 earnings, sustained foreign fund outflows, and rising domestic inflation--both retail and wholesale.

In the US markets on Thursday, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices closed with declines. The S&P 500 closed with a dip of 0.6 per cent, while the Nasdaq closed with a decline of 0.69 per cent.