Muhurat Trading 2026: Date, Timings (8 Nov, 2:20-3:30 PM) and How to Test a Strategy
Last updated: 2 November 2026
Diwali Muhurat Trading 2026 on NSE and BSE takes place on Sunday, 8 November 2026, with continuous trading from 2:20 PM to 3:30 PM IST. This guide covers the Muhurat trading date and timings, how the session works, what it is and is not, the risks of trading it, and how you can study a Nifty strategy for the same one-hour window using a free Pine Script backtester.
What is Muhurat trading?
Muhurat trading is a special, roughly one-hour trading session that Indian stock exchanges hold on Diwali, the festival of lights, to mark the start of the new Samvat year. The BSE introduced the tradition in 1957 and the NSE followed in 1992. Brokers traditionally open new settlement accounts for clients on Diwali and perform Chopda Pujan, the worship of account books (Groww). Many investors treat it as a symbolic start of the year and buy a small amount of shares they plan to hold for the long term.
Muhurat trading 2026 date and time
- Date: Sunday, 8 November 2026 (Diwali, Laxmi Pujan).
- Pre-open session: 2:05 PM to 2:20 PM. Market and limit orders are allowed at first and only limit orders are accepted after 2:10 PM.
- Continuous trading: 2:20 PM to 3:30 PM, which is 70 minutes.
- Closing auction (CAS) for eligible securities: order entry from 3:20 PM to 3:25 PM, with matching and closing processes running until about 3:50 PM.
These timings are from reports of the exchanges' announcement (Business Today). The details for futures and options and for commodity derivatives differ slightly. For example, one broker guide lists the F&O normal market as 2:20 PM to 3:40 PM and commodity derivatives as 2:20 PM to 3:30 PM (Groww). Your broker and the exchange circular are the final word.
Important rules to know
- Trades are real. All trades executed in the session create settlement obligations, and open positions at the end also result in settlement obligations (Groww). It is not a practice session.
- Order types change during pre-open. Market orders can be modified or cancelled only in the first few minutes, and after that only limit orders can be changed.
- The closing process is new. Because 2026 is the first Muhurat session with the closing auction session, the last minutes may behave differently from earlier years.
- It is a Sunday. The normal market is closed that day, so the Muhurat session is a separate special session.
Is Muhurat trading profitable?
There is no reliable evidence that Muhurat trading gives an edge. Older beliefs, such as a "Gujarati" buying tradition and a "Marwari" selling tradition, are described as symbolic today, and one market guide notes there is no data to support them either way (Groww). The session is short and prices can move quickly, so treat it as a ritual first and a trading opportunity a distant second.
There is also a basic statistics problem. A strategy built on Muhurat sessions has one observation per year. After five years you have five data points, which is far too few to conclude anything. In the 1-minute Nifty and BankNifty data on PineBacktest, for example, only the 2025 session appears as a short special session (1:45 PM to 2:45 PM). That is one session, not a sample.
How to study the same time window on a normal day
You cannot backtest Muhurat itself with any confidence, but you can ask a more useful question: does my strategy work in the 2:20 PM to 3:30 PM window on ordinary trading days? That window has hundreds of days of data. Here is a simple Pine Script example that only takes trades in that window and closes before 3:25 PM:
//@version=5
strategy("Late-session test", overlay=true, initial_capital=100000,
default_qty_type=strategy.percent_of_equity, default_qty_value=100)
mins = hour * 60 + minute
inWindow = mins >= 14 * 60 + 20 and mins < 15 * 60 + 25
fast = ta.sma(close, 5)
slow = ta.sma(close, 20)
if inWindow and ta.crossover(fast, slow)
strategy.entry("Long", strategy.long)
if mins >= 15 * 60 + 25
strategy.close_all()To test it, open the PineBacktest tester, paste the script, choose NIFTY or BANKNIFTY, set the timeframe to 5 minutes and pick a date range. The data is in Indian time, so the hours in the script match the exchange clock. Then change one thing at a time, such as the moving-average lengths or the exit time, and see how the trades, win rate, profit factor and drawdown move. Add commission and slippage in the settings, because short intraday trades are very sensitive to costs.
New to backtesting? Read our complete beginner's guide to backtesting a TradingView strategy, and see how to backtest TradingView strategies outside TradingView.
Practical tips for Muhurat day
- Check your broker's app and the NSE/BSE circular for the final timings on the day.
- Use limit orders. A one-hour session can have wide spreads and fast price swings.
- Decide your amount and exit rule before the session starts, not during it.
- If you are new, watch the session or paper trade first. Do not borrow money to trade.
- Keep it small and symbolic. A long-term holding bought at Muhurat is no better than the same holding bought on another day.
Frequently asked questions
When is Muhurat trading in 2026?
On Sunday, 8 November 2026, during Diwali. Continuous trading is from 2:20 PM to 3:30 PM IST on NSE and BSE.
What is the Muhurat trading time?
Pre-open is 2:05 PM to 2:20 PM, and the normal market runs from 2:20 PM to 3:30 PM for equities. Closing processes continue for a short time after that.
Is the stock market open on Diwali?
The normal market is closed for Diwali Laxmi Pujan, but the exchanges hold the special Muhurat session. In 2026 it is on Sunday, 8 November.
Is Muhurat trading good for intraday trading?
It can be volatile, and there is no evidence of a reliable edge. Intraday traders should use small size, limit orders and a fixed exit plan.
Do trades in Muhurat trading settle?
Yes. All trades executed during the session create settlement obligations, so it is a real trading session.
Can I backtest a Muhurat trading strategy?
Only weakly, because there is just one session a year. A better approach is to backtest the same time-of-day window on normal days, as shown above.
This article is educational and is not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Exchange timings and rules can change, so confirm them with NSE, BSE and your broker. Trading carries a risk of loss. Sources were checked on 2 November 2026.