Banks shut in 19 cities for Eid-e-Milad, stock markets stay open

Banks in 19 cities across India, including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru, are closed on Wednesday for Eid-e-Milad and the Onam festival day of Thiruvonam. The Reserve Bank of India's holiday calendar lists closures at branches in Belapur, Bhopal, Dehradun, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Kanpur, Kochi, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Srinagar and Thiruvananthapuram. State-owned banks such as SBI, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank, along with private lenders Axis, HDFC and ICICI, are shut, Times of India reports.

Stock markets NSE and BSE remain open for regular equity trading on August 26, but the day is a settlement holiday: trades will settle the next working day. Currency markets are closed, commodity exchanges MCX and NCDEX operate normally. ATMs, UPI and internet banking continue to work for most transactions. Banks will reopen on Thursday, with the next round of state-specific closures on August 28 for Raksha Bandhan.