While the day was initially classified as a settlement holiday, exchanges issued revised circulars last week declaring a complete trading halt, citing expected bank closures across the state.
Nithin Kamath took to his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to question the rationale behind halting market operations for a local civic event, especially in a globally connected financial system.
Kamath argued that shutting down exchanges with international linkages for a municipal election highlighted poor planning and a lack of consideration for second-order effects.
Citing famed investor Charlie Munger, he wrote, “Show me the incentive, and I will show you the outcome,” suggesting that the market holiday persists because no key stakeholders are incentivized to challenge it.
He further added that such moves underscore how far Indian markets still have to go before being taken seriously by global investors.
Kamath’s post sparked immediate debate, drawing a response from Samir Arora, founder of Helios Capital, who questioned the consistency of such arguments.
Arora replied on the same platform: “I hope you will say the same thing when the market is open on Sunday, February 1,” referring to the government’s decision to keep markets open on Budget Day despite it falling on a weekend.
“If our exchange has international linkages, is it not unfair to foreign investors to have the market open on Sunday?” he added.
The discussion has put a spotlight on the broader issue of exchange operational planning and its alignment with India’s aspirations to be a globally significant market.
Meanwhile, commodity trading on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) was partially operational on January 15, with the morning session suspended due to polling. Trading in bullion contracts like gold and silver resumed in the evening, while select agricultural commodities remained available until 9:00 PM.
Also read: Market Holiday: Can investors trade gold, silver on MCX today?
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