India’s financial markets are witnessing an unusual weekend trading session today as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2026 on Sunday, February 1. To allow investors to respond instantly to policy announcements, both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) are operating full trading sessions, marking only the second instance since Independence that equity markets are open on a Sunday.
Despite the weekend timing, markets are following regular trading hours, with the pre-open session held in the morning and normal trading continuing until 3:30 pm. The Budget speech, scheduled for 11 am, is being delivered while markets remain live, enabling immediate reactions to changes in taxation, government spending and sector-specific measures.
Commodity markets are also participating in the special session. The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) are both open, allowing real-time price discovery across metals, energy and agricultural commodities during the Budget announcement.
Market sentiment heading into Budget Day remains cautiously optimistic. Benchmark indices ended the previous week marginally higher despite mixed global cues, supported by positive developments on trade agreements but weighed down by weak corporate earnings, a depreciating rupee and continued foreign investor outflows.
From a technical standpoint, experts note that while indices are trading below short-term averages, they remain comfortably above long-term moving averages, suggesting that the broader market trend remains intact. Investors are closely watching key support and resistance levels on Nifty and Bank Nifty, with volatility expected to stay elevated throughout the session as the Budget speech unfolds.
