Muhurat trading 2026: Sensex ends at 80,999, Nifty at 24,986 after best week since 2021

Both indices ended in the negative zone, even as the broader market held up. The small-cap index's gain of about 1% and the mid-cap index's smaller one meant that the weakness was concentrated in the largest shares. Muhurat means an auspicious time, and Diwali's Laxmi Pujan, which fell on Sunday 8 November this year, is the one day when the exchanges open on a Sunday for a special session. Muhurat trading is a ritual hour: by tradition investors make a token purchase to begin the Hindu financial year, and many broking houses perform a puja for their account books. The NSE circular says every trade in the session carries normal settlement obligations, so the purchases are real.

The NSE circular fixed the window at 2.20 pm to 3.30 pm, and the exchange's holiday listing confirms the session for Sunday 8 November on account of Diwali Laxmi Pujan. The broader market held steadier than the benchmarks: the Midcap 100 rose about 0.13% and the Smallcap 100 about 1%, so the index fall reflected weakness in the largest shares more than a broad sell-off.

The close is lower than last year's. In the 2025 Muhurat session the Sensex crossed 84,400 and the Nifty ended at about 25,869. This year's closes are roughly 3,400 points and 880 points below those levels.

The week that came before: 8.8% in five sessions

The session followed one of the strongest weeks in recent years. In the week to 6 November the Sensex rose by 6,568.49 points, or 8.82%, and the Nifty by 1,977.25 points, or 8.58%, according to exchange data. That was their best weekly gain since February 2021, when the Sensex rose by 9.6% and the Nifty by 9.5%. The gain added about Rs 28.70 lakh crore to the market value of BSE-listed companies. Foreign portfolio investors bought about Rs 14,975 crore of Indian shares on Thursday, 5 November, their largest single-day purchase since February 2021.

Working back from the weekly gains, the Sensex began the week at about 74,460 and the Nifty at about 23,053, and the Sensex had closed near 75,693 on Monday 2 November, so it added roughly 5,335 points, or 7%, in the four sessions from that close to Friday's. The seven-session streak was the longest for the Nifty in 14 months and for the Sensex in 26 months. Analysts credited foreign buying, falling crude prices and the market's limited exposure to shares tied to artificial intelligence, which had sold off globally, for the strength. Even after the surge, both indices were still lower for 2026 as a whole, with the Nifty down about 4.2% and the Sensex about 4.9% for the calendar year.

What a symbolic session does and does not tell you

A single hour on a Sunday, with thin volume and token buying, says little about the year ahead. A small fall after a rise of nearly 9% in a week is also unremarkable: markets often pause after a run like this one. The more useful test comes on Monday 9 November, when regular trading resumes, and in the following weeks, when the exchanges and brokers will show whether foreign buying continues after its biggest day in more than five years.

The backdrop outside India was mixed. Wall Street ended Friday with the Nasdaq up 1.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.3% and the Dow down 0.5%, and all three lower for the week, with the Nasdaq down 3.4%. American payrolls rose by 165,000 in October, a stronger figure than recent months, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which supports the case for interest rates staying high for longer. Brent crude futures fell more than 16% in the week to 6 November.

Several outside factors will matter for that. Oil moved lower at the start of the week after the United States President said new strikes on Iran were unlikely if talks progress, and the Strait of Hormuz remains a risk for India's fuel import bill. Anyone who took part in the session for good luck should treat it as a ritual and judge their holdings on their own terms, as the exchanges say trades made on the day are final and settle in the normal way.