Nifty 50 jumped nearly 200 points in just two minutes on Monday, as traders adjusted to India's new closing auction system for large stocks. At 3.28 pm, Nifty was trading at 24,573, which then surged to 24,774 to close nearly 1.6% higher at 3:30 pm. The sharp move came after exchanges introduced the Closing Auction Session (CAS) from August 3. The new system changes how the closing price is calculated for stocks that are part of the futures and options list.
The move appeared to surprise some intraday traders, especially those used to the old 3:30 pm closing pattern. Under the new structure, different parts of the market now close at different times. For F&O-linked stocks, continuous trading stops at 3:15 pm. These stocks then move into a closing auction process. Other stocks continue trading until 3:30 pm. Index and stock F&O contracts remain open until 3:40 pm.
