Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 22 (ANI): Indian stock markets remained closed on Wednesday on account of the festival holiday of Bali Pratipada.

As per the official NSE holiday calendar, the markets are shut for today, and trading will resume on Thursday.

Bali Pratipada is an important festival that commemorates the legendary victory of Lord Vishnu's Vamana avatar over the mighty yet virtuous demon king Bali.

The festival symbolizes humility, devotion, and the balance of cosmic order, and is considered an auspicious day for new beginnings and prosperity.

Meanwhile, in other Asian markets, a mixed trend was seen. Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down by 0.4 per cent, while Singapore's Straits Times was up by 0.25 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined by 0.82 per cent, Taiwan's Weighted Index fell by 0.53 per cent, and South Korea's KOSPI index gained 0.23 per cent.

Indian investors will resume trading activity tomorrow following the mid-week festival break.

Indian benchmark indices ended marginally higher in the special Muhurat Trading session on Tuesday, with the Nifty closing around 25,900.

While the Sensex and Nifty remained largely flat, broader markets saw gains. The BSE Midcap index rose 0.3 per cent, and the Smallcap index advanced 1 per cent.

At the end of the Muhurat trading session, Nifty stood at 25,868.60, up 25.45 points or 0.10 per cent, while Sensex ended at 84,426.34, up 62.97 points or 0.07 per cent.

Among Nifty stocks, top gainers included Cipla, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Infosys, and M&M. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Max Healthcare, and Asian Paints were among the losers.Barring Nifty PSU Banks and Realty, all sectoral indices ended in green, with Nifty Media, Metal, and Pharma being the top gainers.

The exchange platforms -- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) -- were open for trading from 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM, marking the beginning of Samvat 2082. (ANI)