Stock brokers and other market people have once again urged the stock exchanges to consider intra-day trading like last year. Brokers have submitted a proposal to the Exchange through the ‘Brokers Industry Standards Forum’ (BISF). Brokers have said that the auspicious time for Diwali this year is between 1:47 pm to 3:12 pm. He has proposed to hold the trading session between 2 pm and 3 pm. According to sources, the exchange is considering this request.

Under the initial scheme, Muhurta trading can take place between 2:20 pm to 3:20 pm. Before this, there may be a ‘Block Deal Window’ from 1:50 PM to 2:05 PM followed by a ‘Pre-Open Session’ from 2:05 PM to 2:20 PM. No official circular has been released yet. Exchanges usually consult each other before finalizing trading schedules and holidays. The final schedule of muhurta trading is expected to be announced only after the completion of these discussions. Last year, Muhurta trading was changed from the traditional evening time to between 1:45 pm and 2:45 pm.

Professionals also get a chance to celebrate Diwali

The ‘Association of NSE Members of India’ (ANMI) has also requested the exchanges to consider the proposal of afternoon muhurta trading. He argues behind this as ‘tradition, inclusiveness and work-life balance’. ANMI National President Kamlesh Shroff said that this will also preserve the age-old tradition of our market and allow brokers, employees and their families to celebrate Diwali together without the pressure of late-night trading sessions.

‘Dhan’ founder Jai Prakash Gupta, who pioneered the introduction of daytime muhurta trading last year, has made a similar request this year. He said that while muhurta trading is a very special tradition of the market, it comes with a lot of operational and compliance responsibilities, forcing people to work late into the evening. By organizing afternoon muhurta trading this Diwali, these professionals will get an opportunity to attend to their responsibilities and celebrate the festival with their families.

What is the logic of brokers?

Brokers argue that the afternoon session will help thousands of employees working in brokerage firms, stock exchanges, clearing corporations, depositories, custodians, banks and other market-related organizations to complete their work on time. With this they will be able to celebrate Diwali with their family in the auspicious evening. He clarified that the intention is not to relax the rules, but to help market professionals to celebrate the festival with their families, so that market operations can also continue smoothly.

Brokers have also pointed out the requirements to be fulfilled after muhurta trading. They have suggested that certain processes like ‘early pay-in’ of securities and allocation of funds be allowed to be completed on the next working day. Other suggestions include waiving penalty for shortfalls in ‘peak margin’ during this period and allowing ‘end-of-day’ (EOD) allocations to be completed before 9 am on the next trading day. According to brokers, due to the current schedule, employees of market-related organizations including stock exchanges and clearing corporations get little time to celebrate the festival with their families.

The tradition of ‘moment trading’ is very old.

As compliance requirements increase and reporting deadlines tighten, employees often have to spend more time completing post-trade processes such as fund allocation and ‘early pay-in’ of securities. Brokers said that by the time they finish their work and reach home, the excitement of celebrating Diwali is gone. He said that this problem has been there for many years.

Muhurta trading is an old tradition of the Indian stock market, which takes place every year on Diwali. Investors attend this special session as a symbol of inviting prosperity and wealth associated with the worship of Goddess Lakshmi in the Hindu tradition. This session also marks the beginning of the new financial year as per the Vikram Samvat calendar. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) started the tradition of ‘momentary trading’ in 1957. Since then, this particular trading session has traditionally been held in the evening, though last year it was shifted to the afternoon.