'Poor planning!': Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath slams BSE, NSE closure over Maharashtra civic elections

In a post on X, Kamath wrote, “Indian stock exchanges are closed today for Mumbai’s municipal elections. The fact that our exchanges, which have international linkages, are shut down for a local municipal election shows poor planning and a serious lack of appreciation for second-order effects.”

Citing legendary investor Charlie Munger, he added, “As Munger said: ‘Show me the incentive, and I will show you the outcome.’ The holiday exists because no one who matters has any incentive to oppose the market holiday. It also tells you how far we have to go before global investors take us seriously.”

Trading has been suspended for the day on both the BSE and NSE.

While activity in the primary equity market remained halted, the commodity market witnessed partial operations, with the evening session (starting at 5 pm) staying functional.

The morning session (9 am–5 pm) in the commodity segment, however, remained shut.

The holiday was announced on January 12 and was included in the official list of stock market holidays for the year.

According to a Business Standard report, the shutdown was aimed at enabling professionals in the financial services sector to cast their votes in the municipal elections being held across the state.

The markets had closed in the red on Wednesday (January 14), extending losses for the second consecutive day. The BSE Sensex declined 244.98 points to settle at 83,382.71, while the NSE Nifty 50 fell 66.70 points to close at 25,665.60.