Diwali Muhurat Trading 2025: Date, Time and Benefits

Muhurat Trading is a special trading session that takes place on Diwali day, 21st October 2025. This day is considered auspicious for traders and investors to trade or add new stocks to their portfolios, as they believe their portfolios will be in the green in the upcoming year. Let’s learn more about this in this article.

Key Highlights:

• Muhurat Trading is happening on 21st October 2025.
• The trading session was scheduled from 01:45 PM to 02:45 PM.
• The Client Margin Reporting Schedule has been extended.

What is Muhurat Trading?

Muhurat Trading is a special, one-hour stock trading session that occurs annually on Diwali, marking the beginning of the new traditional financial year (Samvat). It is considered a symbolic and auspicious time for investors and traders to start or trade in the Stock Market, seeking blessings from the Goddess Lakshmi for wealth and prosperity in the year ahead. 

This unique tradition, rooted in centuries of culture, enables the buying and selling of stocks, futures, and options on both the BSE and NSE over time.

Muhurat Trading Timings for 2025

The Muhurat Trading session for Diwali 2025 is scheduled for Tuesday, October 21, aligning with the Diwali Laxmi Pujan. While regular trading halts for the holiday, this afternoon's session opens a special avenue for the market participants to add new stocks to their portfolios. 

The NSE and BSE have outlined the following schedule for Muhurat Trading 2025, as mentioned below,

Note that After Market Orders (AMOs) can be placed until shortly before the session starts, and all trades carry standard settlement obligations on a T+1 basis.

Benefits of Muhurat trading

Muhurat trading is an annual, hour-long trading session on Diwali day, considered an auspicious time, with both new and experienced investors participating to mark the beginning of a prosperous financial year. 

Cultural and symbolic benefits:

• Auspicious beginning: The session enables investors to commence the new Samvat (Hindu calendar) year with a ceremonial trade, symbolising a positive and prosperous start for their investments.
• Goodwill and tradition: For many, it is a ritual to invoke the blessings of Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth, by making a token purchase.
• Festive and optimistic sentiment: The positive and festive atmosphere surrounding Diwali often translates into a generally bullish market sentiment during the session, which is believed to bring good fortune. 

Practical investment benefits:

• Portfolio rebalancing: The session provides investors with an opportunity to review their holdings and make strategic adjustments to their portfolios for the upcoming year.
• Introduction for new investors: The festive and low-pressure environment is an ideal time for new investors to enter the market and make their first symbolic investment.
• Trading opportunities: The festive enthusiasm can lead to increased trading volumes, which may create opportunities for experienced day traders to capitalise on potential price fluctuations.
• Heightened liquidity: The concentrated participation can sometimes lead to increased market liquidity, making it easier for traders to enter or exit positions. 

Long-term focus:

• Encourages disciplined investing: By focusing on making a small, meaningful investment in fundamentally strong companies, the session encourages a disciplined, long-term approach to wealth creation.
• Historical market performance: While past performance does not guarantee future results, historical trends have shown that the markets have often closed on a positive note during Muhurat trading sessions

History of Muhurat Trading in India

The Muhurat Trading tradition traces back to ancient Indian trading communities who would ceremonially close their account books and perform rituals on Diwali to seek blessings for the new financial year, known as Vikram Samvat. Over time, this evolved into formalised stock market activity.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) started the first Muhurat Trading in 1957, and then it was followed by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1992. Initially, it involved practices like Chopda Pujan, worshipping ledgers, which varied by community, where traders bought shares believing it was a good day, while others sold to avoid inflows on the sacred day.

Today, it stands as a symbolic fresh start, less about immediate gains and more about long-term wealth-building intent.

How Market Works During Muhurat Trading?

The one-hour Muhurat window opened by both the exchanges, NSE & BSE, is meticulously structured to ensure orderly trading despite the festive buzz:

1. Block Deals: Large off-market transactions at agreed prices, ideal for institutional players.
2. Pre-Open: An eight-minute equilibrium price discovery to set the opening tone.
3. Normal Trading: The heart of the action, where retail and institutional orders flow freely in equities, futures, options, currencies, and commodities.
4. Call Auction for illiquid Securities: A mechanism to trade thinly traded stocks without disrupting broader markets.
5. Post-Close Adjustments: Time for modifications and cancellations up to 3:15 p.m.

With heightened participation, expect swift price movements and a generally upward bias, though volatility remains a wildcard. All positions must settle, so it's not just a play it's totally a real market engagement.

Who benefits from Muhurat Trading?

Muhurat Trading benefits a wide range of participants, including new investors seeking an auspicious start, long-term investors adding quality stocks, experienced traders capitalising on positive sentiment and high liquidity, and even institutions and brokers aligning with the market trends.

The Muhurat Trading tradition offers a symbolically positive beginning for any investor, regardless of experience, by fostering optimism and tradition during Diwali.

Muhurat Trading 2025 Guidelines for Market Participants

For all the participants in the market, like Stockbrokers, institutions, and active traders, the NSE has outlined a specific set of protocols to ensure smooth execution amid the festivities.

• Risk Management: Two risk parameter files will be generated, one based on the previous day's closing prices and another at the end of the Muhurat session to guide margin and exposure calculations.
• FPI and MF Reporting: Foreign Portfolio Investors (Category I & II) and Mutual Funds seeking additional limits in index products must report holdings at 3:45 p.m. (FPI) and 4:15 p.m. (MF), respectively.
• Settlement Adjustments: Due to the holiday, pay-in and pay-out for trades on October 20 and 21, 2025, will be consolidated and occur on October 23, 2025, starting at 8:30 a.m.
• Client Margin Reporting Schedule: To accommodate the special session, the cut-off dates for margin reporting are extended as follows:

• Custodian and Give-Up Timings: Modifications to Custodian Participant (CP) codes and give-up confirmations for October 21 trades must be completed between 1:45 p.m. and 2:55 p.m.
• Collateral Handling: Enhanced flexibility for collateral management includes:

These measures prevent disruptions and align with the T+1 settlement cycle, ensuring compliance even in this condensed window.

Things to Consider Before Engaging in Muhurat Trading.

One should consider these things before taking any position on muhurat trading.

• Research: Do proper research on stocks which has solid fundamentals and market presence, ignoring hyped stocks.
• Volatility Play: For day trades, keep an eye on high-volume stocks at key support/resistance levels.
• Risk Management: Align with your risk tolerance, don't put all the funds once on any single script, and maintain proper diversification in your portfolio.
• Watch the Closing: Monitor the market post 3:05 p.m. for any exchange circulars regarding adjustments or any regulatory updates.
• Size It Right: Go for small numbers of diversified bets, perhaps a mix of equities and gold ETFs to honour the ritual without overexposure.

Conclusion

Over the years, Muhurat Trading on Diwali day reminds us that wealth, like light, thrives on intention and balance. Whether you're a seasoned trader or festive first-timer, this session offers a poetic nod to prosperity. Light a diya, review your goals, and trade wisely. May the year ahead bring abundant returns.

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