Iran's Four Capital Market Pillars Close for Three Days; Trading Resumes Tuesday, July 7 (Saturday, July 4, 2026)

The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), Iran Fara Bourse (the OTC market), the Iran Mercantile Exchange and the Iran Energy Exchange, all four pillars of the country's capital market, are closed from Saturday, July 4 through Monday, July 6, 2026 (13 to 15 Tir 1405). The closure follows a resolution of the Supreme Council of the Exchange, coordinated with a cabinet decision to hold official national mourning ceremonies, and means three consecutive trading sessions with a complete halt to trading in equities, securities and commodities. The last session before the closure was Wednesday, July 1 (10 Tir), and according to the Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO), trading resumes Tuesday, July 7, 2026 (16 Tir).

Background

In the last session before the closure, Wednesday, July 1, TEDPIX, the TSE's main index, rose 59,624 points (1.16%) to close at 5,187,258, while the equal-weighted index added 19,661 points to reach roughly 1.361 million; 85% of listed symbols traded higher, and about 18 trillion tomans (1.8 "hemat") of net real-money inflow entered the equity market. This three-day closure is the second major capital-market shutdown of 1405 (the current Iranian year). Earlier, the TSE was fully closed from February 28 to May 19, 2026 (9 Esfand 1404 to 29 Ordibehesht 1405), about 80 days, amid escalating military tensions and systemic risk; when it reopened, contrary to many analysts' expectations, the main index rose about 2,500 points to 3.716 million, though more than 40 symbols in the chemicals and base-metals groups, whose companies had sustained damage, remained suspended. Iran's capital market has seen shorter closures before too: roughly two weeks from March 16, 2020 (26 Esfand 1398) amid the Covid-19 outbreak, and three days from December 22, 2017 (2 Dey 1396) during that period's unrest.

Key figures

Drivers

According to domestic financial media, the current three-day closure was set by a resolution of the Supreme Council of the Exchange, coordinated with the cabinet's decision to declare a national holiday for official farewell and funeral ceremonies for the country's Supreme Leader, whose passing was announced earlier this month; the closure covers every capital-market pillar, including the TSE, the OTC market, the commodity exchange and the energy exchange. Unlike the capital market, informal currency, gold and coin markets continued operating on a semi-official basis through the same days: the free-market dollar, today, Saturday, July 4, rose modestly from Thursday, July 2 to 175,400 tomans, and the Emami gold coin traded around 177.99 million tomans, a sign that parallel markets kept functioning while official equity and commodity trading was suspended.

Outlook

The May 2026 reopening, which followed a far longer closure, showed that Iran's stock market does not always resume on a downward path and can rise against general expectations. That episode is a historical data point, though, not a fixed rule, and the circumstances and cause of each closure differ. Sahmino offers no prediction or recommendation about which direction the index will move at the July 7 reopening, and reports this precedent purely as educational background.

What to watch

Worth following in the coming days: the reopening session on Tuesday, July 7, 2026; any further Securities and Exchange Organization notice on how the first post-closure session will be conducted; and the backlog of Codal disclosures listed companies are expected to file once the closure ends.

Disclaimer

This report is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All figures carry a specific as-of date and may have changed since; verify information against official, up-to-date sources before making any decision.