NEPSE basics
NEPSE trading calendar and holidays explained.
Since April 2026, NEPSE trades Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday are off. On top of the weekend, NEPSE closes for a number of Nepali public holidays each year. Here is how the calendar works and where to check live market status.
4 min read · Updated · 7 Jul 2026
What days does NEPSE trade?
Since April 2026, NEPSE has operated on a Monday to Friday trading week, with Saturday and Sunday as the weekend. This change aligned NEPSE with most global markets. Prior to April 2026, NEPSE traded Sunday through Thursday; any older guide that still lists "Sunday to Thursday" is out of date.
What are the daily session times?
On each trading day:
- Pre-Open: 10:30 to 11:00 AM NPT. Orders can be placed, modified or cancelled, but no trades execute.
- Continuous trading: 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM NPT. Orders match in real time.
For a deeper look at what each session means, read NEPSE trading hours.
Which festivals close NEPSE?
NEPSE publishes an official annual holiday calendar at the start of each Nepali fiscal year. Because Nepal follows the Bikram Sambat (BS) calendar, the Gregorian dates of each festival closure shift from year to year. The typical festival closures include:
- Nepali New Year (Baishakh 1)
- Loktantra Diwas (Democracy Day)
- Buddha Jayanti
- Republic Day
- Dashain (multiple days: Phulpati, Maha Ashtami, Maha Nawami, Vijaya Dashami, Ekadashi)
- Tihar (multiple days including Laxmi Puja and Bhai Tika)
- Chhath Puja
- Constitution Day
- Indra Jatra (Kathmandu Valley)
- Maha Shivaratri
- Holi
This list is representative, not exhaustive. NEPSE may add or remove specific days in any given year. Always check the official NEPSE website or Punji's market status for the authoritative calendar.
How do you know if NEPSE is open right now?
The Punji app shows a live market status pill on the home tab. It updates in real time to reflect Pre-Open, Continuous, or Closed based on the session clock and the official holiday calendar integrated into Punji's backend. You do not need to cross-check the NEPSE website manually. See the full feature set on the features page.
Can you place orders on holidays?
Since April 2026, NEPSE allows orders to be placed at any time of day, including outside market hours and on holidays. However, those orders only execute when the market is actually open. This means you can queue an order the evening before or during a public holiday, and it will sit in the book waiting for the next trading session. Read more in the 24-hour order placement guide.
Common questions
Answered plainly.
As of April 2026, NEPSE trades Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday are the weekend. Previously NEPSE traded Sunday to Thursday; the schedule changed in April 2026 to align with global markets.
No. NEPSE closes on Nepali public holidays in addition to Saturday and Sunday. The official holiday calendar is published by NEPSE each year and follows the Bikram Sambat calendar, so the Gregorian dates of festival closures shift year to year.
The Punji app shows a live market status pill on the home tab. It reads Pre-Open, Continuous, or Closed in real time based on the session clock and the official holiday calendar. You do not need to manually check the NEPSE website.
Unexecuted day orders placed before a holiday expire at the end of the last trading session. Good-till-cancelled (GTC) orders, if your broker supports them, remain in the system. With the April 2026 extended-hours order placement feature, you can queue new orders during the holiday night; they will wait for execution when the market reopens.
NEPSE typically closes for several days during Dashain (the main festival closure), including Phulpati, Maha Ashtami, Maha Nawami, Vijaya Dashami, and Ekadashi. The exact days are in the official annual holiday calendar published by NEPSE.
Read next
The rest of the guide.
- How NEPSE trading works: orders, settlement and circuit breakersBroker account, limit orders, T+2 settlement, circuit breakers and how cash and shares actually move.
- New NEPSE CGT rates for FY 2083/84: 10% short-term, 7.5% long-termNepal raised capital gains tax from Shrawan 1, 2083. Worked examples and what the change means for holding decisions.
- NEPSE 15% price limit and circuit breakers explainedApril 2026: daily stock limit raised from 10% to 15%. Index circuit breakers at 5% (15-min halt) and 8% (close for day).
- SEBON new IPO rules 2026: retail discount and book-building changesRetail minimum 50 units, 10% discount on the institutional price, and eased eligibility for companies with 1 arba paid-up capital.
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