Muhurat Trading 2026: NSE, BSE announce Diwali timings; check full schedule

India's leading stock exchanges, the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) and BSE Ltd, have announced the schedule for Muhurat Trading 2026 on the occasion of Diwali Laxmi Pujan. The special trading session is scheduled for Sunday, November 8, from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm. It will be the first Muhurat Trading session following the introduction of the Closing Auction Session (CAS).

Muhurat Trading is a special, auspicious trading session held to mark the beginning of Samvat, the traditional Hindu calendar year. Investors consider the occasion auspicious for buying shares with a long-term wealth creation perspective. BSE began the tradition in 1957, while NSE followed in 1992.

According to the circulars issued by the two exchanges, the continuous trading session for Muhurat Trading will begin at 2:20 pm on November 8 and end at 3:30 pm, lasting 70 minutes. The market will close at 4:20 pm after the completion of the settlement-related processes, according to the supplied schedule.

The exchanges will also conduct a special 15-minute pre-open session from 2:05 pm to 2:20 pm for market and limit orders. However, only limit orders will be accepted after 2:10 pm. Order matching will take place from 2:15 pm to 2:17 pm, followed by a three-minute buffer period until 2:20 pm.

The CAS order-entry period is scheduled to begin at 3:20 pm and continue until 3:25 pm, with the system determining a random closing time during the final two minutes. From 3:25 pm to 3:30 pm, only limit orders will be accepted. Order matching is scheduled for 3:30 pm to 3:35 pm, while the closing process for non-CAS securities is scheduled to take place from 3:35 pm to 3:50 pm.

For securities eligible for CAS, the closing reference price will be calculated using the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of trades executed between 3:00 pm and 3:15 pm. All trades executed during the Diwali Muhurat Trading session will result in settlement obligations, the exchange circulars said.