Diwali Muhurat Trading: Leading stock exchanges Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) conducted a one-hour special 'Muhurat Trading' session on the occasion of Diwali on November 1 (Friday), marking the start of the new Samvat 2081.
Sensex opened higher by 635 points at 80,024, Nifty gained 97 points to 24,303 in a special Muhurat trading session on Friday evening.
Benchmark BSE Sensex rose nearly 448 points in the early session of special Muhurat trading on across-the-board buying by investors to mark the start of the new Samvat Year 2081. The 30-share index increased 447.90 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 79,836.96 as all of its constituents traded in the green. The index opened higher at 80,023.75 but shed some gains later.The 50-issue Nifty of the NSE spurted 150.10 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 24,355.45 with 47 of its constituents ending in the green. Among major Sensex movers, Mahindra & Mahindra rose 2.66 per cent, Adani Ports 1.42 per cent, and Tata Motors by 1.35 per cent.
NTPC, Axis Bank, Titan, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel also advanced.
New Samvat- Hindu calendar year
The symbolic trading session was held between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm. The session also marks the beginning of a new Samvat- the Hindu calendar year that starts on Diwali- and it is believed that trading during the 'Muhurat' or auspicious hour brings prosperity and financial growth for the stakeholders.
The market remained closed for regular trading on Diwali, but a special trading window was opened for one hour in the evening. The exchanges earlier announced that the pre-opening session will take place from 5:45 pm to 6:00 pm.
As per NSE, any buying or selling of stocks done during the special Diwali Muhurat trading session have to be completed just like any other regular trading day. After the trading, both parties (buyers and sellers) will have to fulfill their responsibilities, meaning the buyer will pay for the stocks and the seller will deliver them as per normal settlement rules.
During this one-hour window, investors placed orders for stocks according to their wishes which they believe to be auspicious and would bring in good returns. Diwali, dedicated to worshipping the Goddess of Wealth, marks an auspicious day for new purchases and people tend to grab onto some form of financial investment. Also, the purchase of precious metals such as gold and silver, real estate, electronic items, and automobiles, among others, is specially timed by many on this auspicious day.
Market analysts said that Diwali is considered to be the ideal time to start anything new. Investors are said to benefit from trading during this session all through the year. Since the trading window is only open for an hour, markets are known to be volatile. The focus might not be on profitability as much as it might be on the gesture, they added.
