Dhanteras: BSE extends trade in gold ETFs, Sovereign Gold Bond

Leading stock exchange BSE today said it will extend the trading session for gold exchange traded funds (ETF) and Sovereign Gold Bond on October 17 till 1900 hrs on the occasion of Dhanteras, a festival celebrated two days before Diwali.

Besides, the exchange will conduct muhurat trading session on account of Diwali Laxmi Pujan on October 19 from 1830 hrs to 1930 hrs, the BSE said in a notice.

"On the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras on Tuesday, October 17, the exchange has decided to conduct Extended Live Trading session in Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) securities and Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) securities in the equity segment," the bourse said.

After the regular market hours from 0915 hrs to 1530 hrs, trading in gold ETFs and SGB will resume at 1630 hrs on October 17 and continue till 1900 hrs, the exchange said.

It is considered auspicious to buy valuables like gold on occasions like Dhanteras, Diwali and Akshay Tritiya in India.

Gold ETFs track the metals prices and each unit of these securities is generally equivalent to one gram of gold, while Sovereign Gold Bonds are government securities denominated in grams of gold offer an alternative to holding gold in physical form.

Gold ETFs of Axis mutual fund, Birla Sunlife mutual fund, Uti mutual fund, HDFC mutual fund, ICICI prudential and Goldman Sachs are some of the securities that would be available for trading.

All trades done on October 17 during the normal as well as extended trading sessions would be merged and settled on October 23, it added.