Indian Stocks Snap Seven-Day Winning Streak on Rare Red Diwali Muhurat Session
Indian equity benchmark indices closed marginally lower during the traditional Diwali Muhurat trading session on Sunday, halting a seven-session winning streak amid profit booking. The BSE Sensex shed 28.62 points, or 0.04%, to settle at 80,999.40, while the NSE Nifty 50 slipped 0.18% to conclude at 24,986.40. The modest decline represented the first time in eight years that domestic equities concluded a Diwali festive session in negative territory. Across a 30-year historical span, the special Muhurat session has closed in the red on only eight occasions. The pause in momentum followed an 8-9% surge across the broader market over the preceding week as foreign institutional capital returned.
Samvat 2083 Inauguration and Exchange Turnover
On Friday, marking the final regular trading session of Samvat 2082, the Sensex had advanced 2.2% to 81,028 while the Nifty climbed 2% to 25,030.35. Over the entire duration of Samvat 2082, the benchmark Nifty 50 recorded a net loss of 1.1%, reflecting a subdued annual performance. The celebratory trading window ran from 2:15 pm until 3:30 pm on Sunday to inaugurate the financial year of Samvat 2083. Trading activity reflected robust investor engagement, with the National Stock Exchange logging an equity cash turnover of Rs 23,374 crore. That figure surpassed the cash market turnover of Rs 19,714 crore registered during the prior year's festive trading session. At the 2:20 pm market open, the Sensex surged 250 points while the Nifty gained 40 points before profit-taking pulled the Sensex down 28 points and Nifty down 43 points at the 3:30 pm close, according to NDTV.
Sectoral Divergence and Bell-Ringing Ceremonies
At the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai, managing director and chief executive Ashishkumar Chauhan inaugurated the session by ringing the ceremonial opening bell. Concurrent opening ceremonies occurred at the Bombay Stock Exchange, where managing director Sundararaman Ramamurthy rang the opening bell alongside broking community leaders. Sectoral indices exhibited mixed trends during the abbreviated session, with pharmaceutical and healthcare equities rising as much as 2%. Conversely, institutional profit taking in financial heavyweights including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank applied downward pressure on headline indices. Broader market indices including mid-cap and small-cap segments maintained buying interest following subdued participation during Friday's session.
Foreign Inflows and Market Outlook
Foreign portfolio investors purchased shares worth $4.6 billion during the week leading up to the holiday, according to Indian Express. Institutional sentiment drew support from declining global crude oil prices approaching $90 a barrel alongside stabilization measures by the Reserve Bank of India. Motilal Oswal Financial Services chairman Ramdeo Agrawal remarked that low equity valuations combined with high corporate earnings growth provide strong upside potential. Bandhan Life head of equity Avinash Agarwal stated that market performance in Samvat 2083 will depend primarily on earnings delivery rather than valuation expansion. Regular equity trading across Indian exchanges will resume on Monday, November 9, 2026, marking the first formal business session of Samvat 2083. Historical records spanning twenty trading gatherings from 2006 through 2025 demonstrate that the index finished upward in fifteen instances while declining in the remaining five, according to Finnovate.