Diwali Muhurat trading: How Sensex has fared in past 10 years

On the occasion of Diwali, stock exchanges BSE and NSE today held special one-special one-hour Muhurat trading session, which marks the beginning of the Hindu calendar year Samvat 2076. The exchanges will remain closed on Monday on the occasion of Diwali Balipratipada.

Samvat 2076 started on a strong note today. Key stock market indices ended higher in the special one-hour Muhurat trading session on the occasion of Diwali. The Sensex gained 192 points to settle at 39,250 while the broader Nifty ended 0.50% higher at ₹11,628.

In Samvat 2075, key stock market indices Sensex and Nifty eked out smart gains, rising 11% and 10% respectively. But midcaps and smallcaps have sharply underperformed.

The Sensex mostly rises in the Muhurat trading session, rising on seven occasions in past 10 years (from 2019 to 2018), according to Bloomberg data. Last year, the Sensex had risen 0.7% on Muhurat trading session.

Rohit Singre, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, says: "Strong support for Nifty is coming near 11500-11450 zone and strong resistance is coming near 11,650-11,700. Any decisive breakout above 11,700 zone can see quick move towards 12,000 mark."

Shrikant Chouhan, senior vice-president, equity technical research at Kotak Securities, said: "Technically, Nifty should remain in a range till it is trading below the level of 11720. Above 11720, Nifty would rally to 11850."

Nifty has entered a consolidation phase after facing resistance at 11720, says Jimeet Modi, founder & CEO, SAMCO Securities & StockNote. "Market will gain momentum the moment Nifty crosses 11750 which will then take the market to 12000 swiftly. Buy on dips should be the strategy for the traders." he said.