Special Live Trading Session On Sunday: BSE, NSE Open Today, How To Trade On February 1 During Budget?

Indian stock market will be carrying a special live trading session on February 1, 2026, to coincide with Union Budget presentation on the day. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce her ninth straight Budget. Investors will eye key measures and developments from the current government that would boost economic growth and benefit common man in general for the next fiscal.

Sensex, Nifty:

Last week on January 30th, which was the last trading session of last month, Sensex dropped by nearly 297 points or 0.4% to end at 82,269.78. However, its weekly performance was flat. But overall in January 2026, Sensex has crashed nearly 2,919 points or 3.43%.

Similarly, Nifty also followed suit. On Friday last week, the benchmark closed at 25,320.65, down by 98.25 points or 0.4%. Nifty, however, dropped only 25 points in the trading week ahead of Budget 2026. For overall January, Nifty nosedived by nearly 826 points or 3.2%.

"Dalal Street has had a shaky start to 2026, with the Nifty down 3.18% in January, as caution dominates amid lingering trade-policy risks, uncertainty over the seriousness of Trump's tariff threats, FII outflows, a weak rupee and softer domestic demand," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Special Live Trading Session On Sunday:

As per the notification from BSE and NSE, live trading session will be held on February 1, 2026, due to Union Budget 2026. Accordingly, the trade settlement dates have been modified as well.

The trading session will begin at its usual timings such as pre-market timing at 9:00 am, market opening timing at 9:15 am, and market closing timing at 3.45 pm. However, trade modification timings are completed before 4:15 pm.

Stocks To Buy On February 1:

In Tapse's view, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget on February 1, the market is looking for a careful fiscal balancing act-maintaining discipline while protecting growth and stabilising capital flows. Expectations include a FY27 fiscal deficit of 4.3-4.4% of GDP, a capex outlay near Rs 12.5 trillion with focus on defence, railways and shipbuilding, status quo on capital gains tax (any adverse tweak could hurt equities), modest disinvestment targets and measures to address sticky core inflation.

Structurally, themes like nuclear power (with NTPC in focus) and data centres (benefiting players such as Bharti Airtel, Adani Enterprises and Tata Communications) stand out. Bottom line: this Budget is less about headline numbers and more about restoring confidence and keeping India's growth story intact in an uncertain global backdrop, as per Mehta Equities expert.

Sensex, Nifty Outlook On February 1:

According to Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, Indian stock markets are set for a rare and historic Sunday trading session today, coinciding with the live presentation of the Union Budget 2026 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at 11 AM. Markets are likely to remain highly volatile, with sharp moves possible in either direction depending on key announcements around fiscal policy, capex push, sector-specific incentives, and the fiscal deficit target (expected around 4.3-4.4% of GDP for FY27).

Further, the expert added that pre-budget aution continues amid persistent FII outflows, a weak rupee hovering near 92/USD, and mixed global cues. However, steady DII buying and the market's ability to hold key support levels are offering some downside cushion.

"A favourable Budget reaction could trigger an upside breakout, while any disappointment or profit-booking may pull indices back towards lower support zones. Until there is clarity from the Budget, the overall bias remains cautious to neutral," the expert added.

Technical Target For Sensex, Nifty:

In case of Sensex, as per Vaishali Parekh Vice President - Technical Research of PL Capital Group, the 30-scrip benchmark once again witnessed resistance near the 200 DMA level of 82500 and, amid some volatility, slipped down to end near the 82250 level with bias maintained intact, and overall, the optimistic approach is sustained with a near-term target of the 83700 level expected in the coming sessions. As mentioned earlier, the index would have the important support positioned near the level of the 81500 zone, with the near-term support positioned near the 81000 zone, which needs to be sustained to keep the overall bias intact.

For Nifty 50, Parekh said, Nifty, after witnessing a gap down opening, remained rangebound with some fluctuations happening, sustaining above the important support at the 200-period MA of the 25200 zone, and all eyes are awaiting the budget session outcome, which shall decide the further course of the market direction in the coming days. The index, as mentioned earlier, shall have the important support of the long-term trendline zone at the 25000 level, which needs to be sustained, and, on the upside, would need to breach above the 25700 zone of the 50 EMA level.

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