New Delhi, 07 November (H.S.): Despite Sunday being a weekly holiday for the stock markets, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) will open for a special Muhurat Trading session on Diwali, November 8, from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm.
The exchanges had officially announced the schedule for the traditional Diwali trading session a few days ago. Observed every year on the occasion of Diwali, Muhurat Trading is considered an auspicious opportunity to begin fresh financial investments and welcome the Hindu New Year, or Lakshmi New Year.
Although regular stock market operations remain suspended on Sundays, the exchanges will make a special exception for the festival. The symbolic trading session holds considerable significance in Indian culture and the business community, with traders and investors traditionally beginning new transactions during the auspicious period while also offering prayers to Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha for prosperity and financial well-being.
The main Muhurat Trading session will begin at 2:20 pm and conclude at 3:30 pm on Sunday. However, market-related activities will commence before the start of the main session. The block deal window is scheduled from 1:50 pm to 2:05 pm, followed by the pre-opening session from 2:05 pm to 2:20 pm.
Following the main trading session, separate closing arrangements will be in place to facilitate the orderly conclusion of market operations. The non-CAS closing session will run from 3:30 pm to 3:50 pm, while the CAS closing session will take place from 3:35 pm to 3:50 pm. A post-closing session will subsequently be held from 3:50 pm to 4 pm, bringing the special Diwali trading activity to an end.
Under the festive-week trading calendar, Sunday will be reserved exclusively for Muhurat Trading. Regular stock market operations will resume on Monday, November 9. However, both the NSE and BSE will remain closed again on Tuesday, November 10, on account of Diwali-Balipratipada. The exchanges will also observe a trading holiday on November 24 for Guru Nanak Jayanti, also known as Prakash Gurpurb.
The special Diwali trading session comes at a time when the domestic stock market appears to be recovering from a prolonged period of sluggishness. A sharp decline in international crude oil prices following the results of the US midterm elections has provided considerable support to global markets and helped revive sentiment on Dalal Street.
Lower crude oil prices have triggered broad-based buying in the domestic market, enabling Indian benchmark indices to register a strong rally ahead of Diwali.
The BSE Sensex gained 6,598.49 points, or 8.82 per cent, over the week to reach 81,028.02. Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 1,977.25 points, or 8.58 per cent, on a weekly basis to close at 25,030.35.
The impressive gains have lifted investor sentiment and brought renewed optimism to the market. Against this backdrop of a strong pre-Diwali rally, investors are expected to participate enthusiastically in Sunday's auspicious Muhurat Trading session, with expectations of substantial investment activity.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
