GIFT Nifty Trading Hours Extended To 23.5 Hours: NSEIX Morning Session Now Opens At 5:15 AM

A new phase of extended trading is going to start for GIFT Nifty, with the NSE International Exchange (NSEIX) at GIFT City introducing a 23-hour-and-30-minute trading window from November 2, 2026. The revised schedule will let market participants trade from 3:15 AM IST until 2:45 AM the next day, so now the exchange will have near-continuous access to global financial markets.

GIFT Nifty Morning Session Now Starts At 5:15 AM

Under the revised schedule, the morning session for NSE IFSC Nifty 50 Index Futures, commonly known as GIFT Nifty, now begins at 5:15 AM IST, which earlier opened at 6:30 AM.

The pre-open session starts at 5:00 AM, so that participants can have an additional window to prepare for trading.
Normal trading in the first session continues until 3:40 PM, followed by the pre-close session. Order collection ends at 3:50 PM, and the session officially closes at 3:55 PM.

The second trading session stays unchanged, with the pre-open beginning at 3:58 PM and normal trading running from 4:05 PM until 2:45 AM the following day.

The overall market operations window now stretches from 3:15 AM to 2:45 AM, providing a total of 23 hours and 30 minutes of trading access.

GIFT Nifty Timings: Old Vs New Schedule

Trading session	Earlier timings	Revised timings
Morning pre-open	6:15 AM	5:00 AM
Morning normal trading	6:30 AM	5:15 AM
Morning normal trading ends	3:40 PM	3:40 PM
First session closes	3:55 PM	3:55 PM
Evening pre-open	3:58 PM	3:58 PM
Evening normal trading	4:05 PM	4:05 PM
Final market close	2:45 AM	2:45 AM

Why NSEIX Is Extending GIFT Nifty Trading Hours

The extension is being done to position GIFT City as an international financial centre by enabling market participants to respond to developments across global markets.

With trading available for nearly 24 hours, participants can react to overnight developments in the US markets, European market movements and Asian trading activity without being restricted by conventional Indian market hours.
For domestic market participants, GIFT Nifty is an important indicator of sentiment ahead of the opening of India's equity markets at 9:15 AM. However, GIFT Nifty's movements should not be treated as a definitive prediction of the Nifty 50's opening level, as domestic market conditions, institutional flows and other factors can influence the final outcome.