Muhurat Trading 2025: Sensex, Nifty kick off Samvat 2082 on a positive note; what’s next?

Domestic equity benchmarks, the Sensex and Nifty, opened higher on Tuesday during Diwali Muhurat Trading, scheduled for an afternoon slot from 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm on October 21. The Muhurat trading session, an annual ritual deemed highly auspicious, ushers in the new Hindu calendar year, Vikram Samvat 2082.

At 1:48 pm, the BSE Sensex was up 220.22 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 84,583.59, after surging nearly 302 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty gained 73.30 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 25,916.45, having touched a day’s high of 25,934.35.

Among Sensex stocks, Infosys topped gainers, surging 1.48 per cent to Rs 1,483.10. Adani Ports shares gained 0.87 per cent, while Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank advanced 0.84 per cent, 0.69 per cent and 0.64 per cent, respectively. 

Indian stock markets will remain closed on Tuesday, October 22, for Balipratipada, with trading for the new Hindu calendar Samvat 2082 set to resume on Thursday, October 23. In the previous year, both the Sensex and Nifty50 delivered a modest 6 per cent return in Samvat 2081.

Wall Street ended on a strong note overnight, with all three major US indices ending in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.12 per cent to 46,706.58, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.07 per cent to 6,735.13. The Nasdaq Composite led the gains, surging 1.37 per cent to 22,990.54.

On Monday, the Sensex surged 411.18 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 84,363.37, while the Nifty50 added 133.30 points, or 0.52 per cent, to settle at 25,843.15.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the key takeaway from Samvat 2081 was India’s significant underperformance. Adding “even though there are many reasons, including Trump tariffs, for this underperformance, the single major factor is the sharp decline in India’s earnings growth to 5 per cent in FY 25 from an average of 24 per cent during the three years before that.”

Vijayakumar said that in the long run, the market is a slave to earnings, adding that the key trend ahead will hinge on how earnings growth unfolds.

 “The fiscal and monetary reforms implemented this year has started showing results. Particularly, the sales of automobiles and white goods have shot up early this festive season and, if this trend sustains, earnings growth will be good at around 8 to 10 per cent in FY 26, accelerating to around 15 per cent in FY 27,” Vijayakumar said.

“If this expectation materialises, the market will rally in Samvat 2082 compensating for the underperformance of Samvat 2081. In the short run the market may get a leg up from a possible India- US trade deal, but the long-term trend will be dictated by earnings growth,” Vijayakumar added.