Mumbai: Diwali falls on a Sunday this year, which does not buy Dalal Street a holiday.
NSE and BSE open for the hour-long Muhurat session from 2:20pm to 3:30pm, the first trades of Samvat 2083. The schedule is tighter than the headline hour. The block deal window runs 1:50pm to 2:05pm, the pre-open session 2:05pm to 2:20pm. Continuous trading starts at 2:20pm and stops at 3:15pm for securities in the closing auction, which runs to 3:30pm. MCX holds its own session from 2:20pm to 3:30pm.
The week behind it is why the hour matters more than usual. On Friday the Sensex gained 1,718.01 points, or 2.17%, to close at 81,028.02. The Nifty added 493.75 points, or 2.01%, to finish at 25,030.35, its seventh consecutive winning session and its first close above 25,000 since the West Asia conflict began.
Across five sessions the Sensex rose 6,568.49 points, or 8.82%, and the Nifty 1,977.25 points, or 8.58% — the sharpest weekly gain since February 2021. The combined market value of BSE-listed companies climbed from about ₹4,74,37,000 crore to ₹5,03,07,000 crore, roughly ₹28.70 lakh crore in a week.
Three things did the work. Brent crude fell about 16% over the week to near $98 a barrel after the US midterm result raised hopes of de-escalation in West Asia. And September-quarter earnings beat expectations, with Mahindra & Mahindra reporting consolidated profit up 25% at ₹4,587.88 crore.
The rally stayed with the big names, though. Of 2,872 stocks traded on Friday, 1,769 declined against 1,037 that advanced.
The outgoing Samvat looks different. Over Samvat 2082 the Nifty fell about 4% and the Sensex about 5%. Tradition sets modest expectations for the hour: across the ten Muhurat sessions from 2016 to 2025, both indices rose eight times, falling only in 2016 and 2017.
Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking expects consolidation after the run and advises selective positions in strong companies rather than chasing momentum. Ravi Singh of Master Capital Services put the caveat plainly: a one-hour session runs on sentiment and thin participation, so a green close is not confirmation of a sustained rally. Vinit Bolinjkar of Ventura sees the Nifty at 26,500 to 27,000 by the next Samvat, and the Sensex at 85,500 to 87,000.
Regular trading resumes on Monday, November 9. The exchanges are shut on Tuesday, November 10, for Diwali-Balipratipada.