The Diwali trading session began on a positive note for Dalal Street, with benchmark indices opening higher during the special Muhurat Trading session. However, the early gains did not last.

By the time the 70-minute session ended, both the Sensex and the Nifty had slipped into negative territory, bringing their nine-year winning streak on Diwali to an end.

The BSE Sensex opened with a gain of around 250 points at 2:20 pm, while the NSE Nifty was up nearly 40 points. However, selling pressure during the session erased these gains.

At the close, the Sensex settled at 80,999.40, down 28.62 points or 0.04%, while the Nifty ended at 24,986.40, declining 43.95 points or 0.18%.

This marked a break from the trend seen since 2018, when both benchmark indices had consistently ended their Diwali Muhurat

Muhurat Trading is a special stock market session conducted every year on Diwali to mark the beginning of the new Hindu calendar year, known as Vikram Samvat.

The session is considered auspicious by many investors, who associate buying shares during this period with prosperity and financial growth.

Unlike regular trading days, the special session runs for a limited period. This year, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) conducted trading from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm on Sunday, November 8. The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) also followed the same trading window.

Sun Pharma was among the strongest performers in the Sensex and Nifty 50 baskets, gaining 2.96%. Tata Steel also advanced, while Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid and Adani Ports ended higher.

On the other hand, M&M declined 0.92%, making it the biggest Sensex laggard. IndiGo fell 0.88%, followed by Trent, which lost 0.81%. Infosys and Bharti Airtel also ended lower.

On the Nifty 50, Tata Steel gained 2.09%, while ONGC advanced 1.31% and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles rose 1.13%. SBI Life was among the biggest losers, falling 1.11%, followed by IndiGo, Bharti Airtel, Max Healthcare and Infosys.

The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.74%, making it the best-performing sectoral index. Nifty Media followed with a gain of 1.71%, while Nifty Healthcare advanced 1.48%.

Metal stocks also traded higher, with the Nifty Metal index gaining 0.35%. Nifty Auto and Nifty Oil & Gas edged up 0.11% and 0.16%, respectively.

However, banking, technology and real estate stocks remained under pressure. Nifty Realty declined 0.65%, while Nifty Financial Services 25/50 fell 0.40%. Nifty Private Bank and Nifty IT lost 0.39% and 0.33%, respectively.

While the Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower, the broader market showed relatively better performance. The Nifty Smallcap 250 gained 1.20%, followed by the Nifty Smallcap 100, which rose 1.01%. The Nifty Smallcap 50 advanced 0.94%.

Among mid-cap indices, the Nifty Midcap 150 gained 0.25%, while the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.13%. The Nifty Midcap 50 edged higher by 0.04%.

Meanwhile, India VIX, which measures expected market volatility, climbed 5.23% to 18.38.

Beyond the day’s market movements, asset allocation and earnings growth remained important themes in the messages shared by market experts.

Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company said, “The disciplined investor —who does not abandon the plan when fear is high, who does not run from the battlefield of volatility, and who keeps faith in the dharma of asset allocation is the one who earns the right to celebrate the bull run.”

Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman and Co-Founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said “After two years of stagnation, market has the potential to give investors bumper returns by next Diwali, because of confluence of low valuation and high earnings growth. Potential crash in oil prices, stable currency, return of foreign investors, moderation of AI hype and broadbased earnings growth will support higher valuation multiples. Happy Diwali!”