Muhurat trading is a roughly one-hour symbolic session held on Diwali evening, a tradition going back decades on Indian exchanges. Many traders treat a green Muhurat session as an auspicious signal for the year ahead. It isn't, and it was never meant to be one.
The session is short, thinly traded relative to a normal day, and disproportionately populated by symbolic first trades — a parent opening a small position for a child, a first-time investor marking the occasion — rather than the usual mix of institutional and retail flow.
What actually moves on a normal trading day
Regular sessions carry FII/DII flows, options expiry positioning, quarterly result reactions and genuine price discovery across a full trading window. None of that context exists in an hour built for sentiment and tradition, not analysis.
There's nothing wrong with taking a symbolic position on Muhurat day — it's a genuinely nice tradition. Just don't mistake the candle it produces for information about the market's direction over the next twelve months.
Educational commentary only — not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. See our disclaimer.