The NSE and BSE will hold the annual one-hour Diwali Muhurat trading session today, Sunday, November 8, 2026, marking the start of the Hindu calendar year, Vikram Samvat 2083.
Market trading will take place from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm for non-Closing Auction Session (CAS) securities, while continuous trading for CAS securities will conclude earlier at 3:15 pm. The session begins with a pre-open order entry phase running between 2:05 pm and 2:15 pm. Order matching and trade confirmations will be processed from 2:15 pm to 2:17 pm, followed by a pre-open buffer window leading directly up to the 2:20 pm market opening.
Other specialised trading segments will also operate on schedules throughout the afternoon. The block deal session will run from 1:50 pm to 2:05 pm. A special pre-open session for initial public offerings (IPOs) and relisted securities is scheduled between 2:05 pm and 2:50 pm, followed by their normal continuous trading from 3:05 pm to 3:30 pm. Meanwhile, the call auction window for illiquid securities will operate from 2:25 pm to 3:10 pm.
Following the close of continuous trading, reference price calculation and the transition to CAS will occur between 3:15 pm and 3:20 pm. The CAS order entry window will run from 3:20 pm to 3:30 pm, with trade matching closing at 3:35 pm. The post-close session will then operate from 3:50 pm to 4:00 pm, while the final trade modification cut-off time is set at 4:15 pm.
The Muhurat session is a long-standing Indian stock market tradition in which investors and brokers execute symbolic trades on Diwali to mark the new year and invoke financial prosperity.
The Indian equity benchmarks concluded the outgoing Samvat on a subdued note, with the Nifty falling approximately 4% and the BSE Sensex declining around 5% over the Hindu calendar year despite a late-stage recovery during the final week of trade.
While headline indices finished in the red, the broader markets showed resilience as midcap, smallcap, and banking indices logged positive annual returns. Sectoral performance remained sharply divided, led by strong gains in pharma and metal counters—with the Nifty Pharma index rising 24% and metals gaining 23%—even as FMCG and IT stocks weighed on the broader market with losses of 18% and 7%, respectively.
Also Read: Samvat to Samvat: Nifty ends lower, while pharma and metals shine
Diwali Muhurat Trading 2026: NSE, BSE to open for special session today; check timings