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Stock Market on Budget 2026: Ahead of the Budget 2026 announcement equity markets opened on a flat note in a special trading session. Benchmark indices showed limited movement in early trade as investors awaited the Budget. The Nifty hovered above 25300 while the BSE Sensex remained above 82300. The stock market is open on Sunday because of the special trading session on the budget day. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2026 in the Lok Sabha today. After the presentation of the Budget 2026 in the Lok Sabha a copy of the budget will be tabled in the Upper House. Like the previous year this year’s budget announcement is expected to shape the direction of economic growth and sectoral priorities. Investors and traders are closely watching the market as the Finance Minister is set to outline the BJP-led centre’s fiscal roadmap for the financial year 2026-27. Investors are closely tracking cues on the fiscal targets taxation proposals spending priorities and sectoral measures. Also Read: Union Budget 2026 Income Tax Slabs Live Updates: Will income tax be further reduced this year? Budget 2026: Market Focus On Capital Gains Tax Amid the current volatility a sharp swing in the prices of gold and silver has been reported. Dalal Street is keeping an eye on FM’s move on capital gains taxes. There are expectations that 2025’s changes may be rolled back to encourage long-term investors in the volatile market. Budget 2026 To Be Tabled On Sunday - First Since 1999 The Central Government has always presented the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha on February 1. This year will also follow the same tradition. However this time the date of the Union Budget 2026 presentation falls on a Sunday which makes it the first Budget since 1999. In 2025 FM Sitharaman presented the Budget in the lower house on a Saturday. The stock markets had opened for trading. Union Budget 2026: Is The Stock Market Open On Sunday - Budget Day? In January this year NSE and BSE issued separate circulars informing that exchanges will be open on the day of the Budget presentation for a special trading session. Union Budget 2026: Trade Timings Both the indices - Both NSE and BSE will run the special trading session from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm in line with normal market hours. “On account of the presentation of the Union Budget members are requested to note that Exchange shall be conducting live trading session on February 01 2026 as per the standard market timings (9:15 am-3:30 pm)” the NSE circular read. However NSE informed that T+0 settlement will be restricted due to a settlement holiday. Union Budget 2026: Will The Commodity Market Be Open? The commodity market will also remain open for trading as per MCX. Because of the the presentation of the Union Budget a special live trading has bee allowed on Sunday. Market Timings Special Session: 08:45 a.m. – 08:59 a.m. Trading Session: 09:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m. Client Code Modification Session: 09:00 a.m. – 05:15 p.m. Union Budget 2026: Experts’ Take On Budget Day Trading Strategy As per market experts traders should to be extra cautious with intraday trades on Budget 2026 day due to high volatility. Santosh Meena Head of Research at Swastika Investmart said Budget Day is historically one of the most volatile sessions for Indian markets. Meena warned that such sudden movements can lead to heavy losses. On Friday Indian stock markets traded cautiously. It slipped from recent highs during the trading session. Heavy selling in metal and IT stocks witnessed on Friday. Mixed global cues and a weak rupee restricted intraday recovery. On Friday gains in FMCG healthcare media consumer durables and select PSU banks gave market some support. Overall market sentiment remained guarded.