Indian Stock Exchanges Set for Special Sunday Trading Session on Diwali

India's stock markets will open for a special shortened session on Sunday as the country celebrates Diwali, keeping alive a traditional practice that has outlasted the shift from handwritten ledgers and physical trading floors to smartphones and algorithms.

Market Background

This year's trading session takes place against a mixed market background. Equity benchmarks are ending Samvat 2082 down more than 3 percent, marking their worst annual performance in over a decade. Domestic markets remain little changed from the levels seen during the Muhurat trading day two years ago, even though a recent market rebound has turned India into a relative bright spot amid a global tech selloff.

Session Timings

The National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange will hold the special session on Sunday, Nov. 8. A pre-open session will run from 2:05 p.m. to 2:20 p.m., followed by the main trading window from 2:20 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. These trades carry regular settlement obligations rather than serving as purely symbolic gestures.

Cultural Roots

Known as Muhurat trading, the ceremonial session marks the start of Samvat, the new Hindu calendar year for many trading communities. For Gujarati and Marwari business families, Diwali marks the end of one commercial cycle and the start of another. Central to the custom is the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, alongside the ritual opening of new account books known as Chopda Pujan in Gujarat and bahi-khata among Marwaris.

Context

The Bombay Stock Exchange has observed the Muhurat trading tradition since 1957, according to its annual report. While physical crowds on the exchange trading floor in Mumbai disappeared following the shift to screen-based trading in the late 1990s, brokers and investors continue the custom through digital platforms and desktop systems.