NSE, BSE set Diwali Muhurat trade plan

Indian stock exchanges will hold the Diwali Muhurat trading session for Samvat 2083 on Sunday, 8 November 2026. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE will open for a limited special session to mark Diwali Laxmi Pujan, while the day is otherwise a holiday from regular weekday trading schedules.

During this session, equity normal trading will start at 2:20 p.m. and run until 3:15 p.m. for securities that enter the Closing Auction Session and until 3:30 p.m. for other securities. Futures and options will trade in a separate window from 2:20 p.m. to 3:40 p.m., following timings set out in NSE circulars dated 19 October 2026.

Ahead of normal equity trading, a block deal window will operate from 1:50 p.m. to 2:05 p.m. Pre-open order entry for most securities will run from 2:05 p.m. to 2:10 p.m., when both limit and market orders can be placed, modified or cancelled. From 2:10 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., only limit orders will be allowed, and order entry will close at a random moment within the last two minutes.

Order matching and trade confirmation in the pre-open phase will take place from 2:15 p.m. to 2:17 p.m., followed by a buffer period until 2:20 p.m., when continuous trading begins. For securities that are part of the Closing Auction Session, continuous trading will end at 3:15 p.m., after which reference prices are calculated and the market moves into the auction phase.

The Closing Auction Session will run from 3:20 p.m. to 3:25 p.m. for order entry in both limit and market orders, shifting to limit orders only from 3:25 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., with order entry again closing at a random point in the final two minutes. Order matching and trade confirmation will then occur between 3:30 p.m. and 3:35 p.m., followed by a post-close session from 3:50 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

IPO and relisted securities will have a dedicated pre-open session from 2:05 p.m. to 2:50 p.m., which will close at a random time in the last 10 minutes of that window. These securities will then move to normal market trading between 3:05 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. A call auction session is also scheduled for illiquid stocks starting at 2:25 p.m.

For derivatives, the Muhurat session will feature a pre-open matching and buffer window from 2:15 p.m. to 2:20 p.m., followed by normal futures and options trading from 2:20 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. Trade modification in equities will be allowed from 2:20 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., and in futures and options from 2:20 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.

All trades executed during the Diwali Muhurat trading session will create settlement obligations in line with regular market rules. For equity trades executed on Sunday, 8 November 2026, the settlement date is set for Monday, 9 November 2026, with pay-in scheduled at 4:30 p.m. and pay-out at 9:00 p.m. that day.

Participation in the session will be limited to client codes that have been identified as compliant by the exchange. Only unique client codes flagged as compliant by 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, 7 November 2026, will be permitted to trade in the Muhurat session, as instructed in an NSE circular to brokers.

The Muhurat trading window marks the start of the new Samvat year 2083 and continues a Diwali tradition on Indian exchanges. The 2026 session will also be the first Muhurat trading window to incorporate the Closing Auction Session for applicable securities, aligning the special Diwali schedule with the broader market structure.