Bourses closed on account of Eid-ul-Fitr

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India were closed on Monday on account of Eid-ul-Fitr. Wholesale commodity markets including metal and bullion were also shut. There was no trading activity in forex and commodity futures markets as well. The trading will resume on Tuesday. On May 22, the BSE S&P Sensex closed 260 points or 0.84 per cent lower at 30,673 while the Nifty 50 fell by 67 points or 0.74 per cent at 9,039 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unexpectedly reduced rates to boost the liquidity into the system in challenging times. The central bank cut the repo rate by 40 basis points to 4 per cent and the reverse repo rate by 40 basis points to 3.35 per cent. It also extended the moratorium on term-loan repayments by another three months to August 31. Meanwhile, Asian stocks were mixed on Monday amid souring relations between China and the United States. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.1 per cent after starting higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dived 1.4 per cent to a two-month low after sinking 5.5 per cent on Friday. South Korea's Kospi traded higher while Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.5 per cent after reports said the country is considering a fresh stimulus package worth over 929 billion dollars for companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic.