NSE and BSE will hold a mock trading session on Saturday. Can investors trade? Everything you need to know

Indian stock exchanges BSE and NSE planned a mock trading session for the equity and derivatives segment on Saturday, January 10, as part of their routine preparedness and system resilience measures. The exercise will allow trading members, including those using third-party trading platforms, to test their applications and infrastructure under simulated market conditions.Mock trading sessions, typically held on Saturdays, are designed to help brokers and market participants validate their order management systems, test risk controls and familiarize themselves with new features or exceptional scenarios without impacting the live markets. The prices displayed during the session reflect apparent values ​​and do not represent actual market activity.

During the January 10 session, trading members will be able to test a wide range of functionalities, including call auction sessions, risk reduction modes, trading stops and block deal mechanisms. The exchange said the exercise would also include exceptional market conditions, allowing participants to assess system behavior during periods of stress.The taster session follows a detailed schedule, starting with a login window from 10:15 AM to 10:45 AM. This will be followed by a morning block deal window, pre-open sessions, continuous trading for both T+1 and T+0 segments, special pre-open sessions for IPO and re-listed securities, periodic call auctions, settlement auctions, an afternoon block deal window and post-closing activities. Trade change windows for both T+1 and T+0 trades will also be enabled as part of the exercise.

The exchange noted that certain order entry sessions will have random pauses near the end to simulate the unpredictability in the real market. For example, order entry may stop arbitrarily in the last minute for pre-open and periodic call auction sessions, and in the last 10 minutes for special pre-open sessions for IPO and relisted scrips.

As part of the exercise, the exchange will also release a new version of its trading workstation, BOLT Pro TWS version 12.50. Details regarding the software upgrade are expected to be shared separately via an official circular.

A major highlight of the upcoming dry run will be to test an alternative trading platform mechanism in accordance with a Sebi directive. The January 10 dry run will include a scenario where an outage is caused at NSE, following which BSE will be invoked as an alternative trading platform for NSE-exclusive securities in the equity segment. This test is intended to ensure that trading can continue seamlessly even if an exchange faces a technical disruption.

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NSE said such exercises are critical for identifying potential gaps or glitches before they impact investors. By regularly testing systems, connectivity and emergency mechanisms, the exchange aims to strengthen operational resilience and maintain market confidence.

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