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If buying a stock during Muhurat Trading could guarantee a prosperous year, we'd all be doing it. But while the session comes with plenty of festive cheer, the market's actual performance is a little less exciting.
Take the last 10 years. The Nifty 50 and Sensex have closed in the green in 8 out of 10 Muhurat Trading sessions. Sounds impressive, right? Until you look at how much they actually gained.
The best year was 2022, when both indices rose by just 0.87%. In 2025, the Nifty was up a mere 0.10%, while the Sensex gained 0.07%. Across the decade, the average gain was roughly 0.3% for both indices. So, yes, the market has usually ended higher. But a festive rally? Not quite.
Then why does Muhurat Trading feel like such a big deal?
A lot of it comes down to how we think about luck and fresh starts. Diwali is associated with wealth and prosperity. Buying your first share of the new Samvat year during an auspicious hour feels like a good way to begin. And when everyone around you is doing the same, the excitement becomes contagious.
Psychology research backs up part of this feeling. A study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in 2025 found that rituals can make people feel luckier, particularly when outcomes are uncertain. The ritual doesn't necessarily change what happens; it changes how we feel about what might happen.
That's probably the best way to look at Muhurat Trading. It's a lovely tradition, a symbolic fresh start and a fun occasion to participate in the markets. Just don't expect the Nifty to mistake the festival of lights for a signal to take off.
