Exchange directory

Session times decide when your order can execute, settlement decides when the shares and cash actually move, and price bands or circuit limits decide whether a position can be exited at all on a violent day. Two identical strategies can produce different outcomes purely because of the venue they run on.

In an order-driven market such as the NSE or BSE, the visible order book is the market and orders match on price-time priority. In a quote-driven or hybrid market, registered market makers or a designated market maker also quote continuously and are obliged to provide liquidity in defined circumstances. The difference is most visible at the open and close and during unusual volatility.

Exchanges publish holiday calendars in advance, and Indian markets occasionally run special sessions outside them. The official closing price is not always the last trade: Indian exchanges use a volume-weighted average of the final half hour, while US venues form a closing price in an auction. This matters whenever a rule or report refers to a closing price.