This year, the Muhurat trading session will begin at 6:15 pm and end at 7:15 pm on Thursday, November 4. The special trading window opens following Hindu Panchang, it marks the beginning of a new Samvat or Samvat 2078 — the Hindu calendar year that starts on Diwali – and it is believed that Muhurat trading brings prosperity and wealth throughout the year.

Muhurat trading is the auspicious stock market trading for an hour on Diwali (Deepawali). It is a symbolic and old ritual, that has been retained and observed for ages, by the trading community. On the BSE, the practice was started in 1957 and in 1992 on the NSE.

Stocks to buy today as recommended by analysts –

Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking

Raymond: Buy Raymond, Stop loss 480, Target 520-530

Ravi Singh, Head of Research & Vice President, ShareIndia

India Cement: Buy India Cement at 210, Target 218, Stop loss 207

Kotak Mahindra Bank: Sell Kotak Bank at 2,045, Target 1990, Stop loss 2070

Ravi Singhal, Vice Chairman, GCL Securities Limited

Grasim: Buy Grasim at 1780, Stop loss 1766, Target 1824,1866

Stocks closed lower on Wednesday, weighed down by banking stocks, though shares of the biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) hit an all-time high after reporting a record quarterly profit. The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index closed 0.33% lower at 17,829.20, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.43% to end at 59,771.92.

The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint.