Union Budget 2026: Are Equity Markets Open on Budget Day?

The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the Union Budget 2026 on February 1. While the budget is usually presented on this date every year, this year, the budget’s date is falling on a Sunday, which is a rare situation.

This situation has caused uncertainty among many investors, as they are confused about whether the stock markets will remain open on February 1, 2026. To clear up the confusion, the stock exchanges, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), have announced that the equity markets will remain open for trading on Sunday, 1st February, 2026.

The NSE in a circular informed that a trading session will take place on that day. The pre-open market will operate from 9:00 am to 9:08 am, while regular trading will take place from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm.

“On account of the presentation of the Union Budget, members are requested to note that Exchange shall be conducting a live trading session on February 01, 2026, as per the standard market timings (9:15 am-3:30 pm),” NSE said.

This will be the ninth budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman as the finance minister. There are expectations that the government may announce changes in customs duty rules along the lines of GST rationalisation.

The budget session of Parliament started on January 28. The first phase of the budget session will continue until February 13. The second phase will start on March 9 and will end on April 2.

The Union Budget will be presented in Parliament at 11:00 am. Usually, the budget speech takes 90 to 120 minutes. However, Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for the longest budget speech in India. In 2020, her speech lasted for two hours and forty-two minutes.