Muhurat trading is a centuries old tradition: markets remain open for roughly an hour and their performance is said to set the tone for the year ahead.
Every year, on the day of Diwali, Indian stock exchanges open for a special trading session for about an hour in the evening. Termed Muhurat trading, this special window is a centuries-old tradition that pays obeisance to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth.
Taking place as it does on the first day of the new Hindu calendar (Samvat), the session is believed as one that sets the tone for the year. The word Muhurat itself stands for ‘auspicious’. Historically, markets tend to close positive on most Muhurat trading days.
On the occasion of the beginning of Samvat 2075, the Muhurat trading session is set to take place between 5.30 pm and 6.30 pm on November 7, 2018.
Back in the 80s and early 90s, before the advent of screen-based trading, brokers would assemble in the BSE trading hall, decked in festive wear. Investors would place orders for stocks they intended to hold for the whole year.
Businessmen across the country mark the day with Lakshmi Puja, during which prayers are held over books of accounts.
Since then, muhurat trading has evolved into more of a festive event, with investors making token orders for symbolic reasons, given the auspiciousness of the occasion. Traders look to profit from the generally positive stock movement, even though volumes tend to remain light.
Financial advisers say that while serious investors should not necessarily take meaningful investment decisions specifically for Muhurat trading, or from information derived from it, you could use it to do a yearly or a half-yearly review of your asset allocation.
