Indian stock markets ended the special Diwali Muhurat Trading session on November 8, 2026, marginally lower, giving up early gains after a strong rally in the preceding week. While the benchmark indices closed in the red, broader markets outperformed, and market experts remained optimistic about the prospects of Samvat 2083.
The BSE Sensex declined 28.62 points, or 0.04%, to settle at 80,999.40. The NSE Nifty fell 43.95 points, or 0.18%, to close at 24,986.40, slipping below the 25,000 mark. Despite the decline, market breadth remained positive, with 3,127 stocks advancing, 917 declining and 193 remaining unchanged.
The Sensex had gained nearly 400 points during the initial hours of Muhurat Trading, while the Nifty moved above 25,100. However, buying momentum weakened as the session progressed, pushing both benchmark indices into negative territory.
The decline followed a strong performance on Friday, when the Sensex surged 2.17% to 81,028.02 and the Nifty advanced 2.01% to 25,030.35. Both indices had closed at eight-month highs, with the Nifty reclaiming the 25,000 level for the first time since February 27.
The Nifty gained 8.58% during the preceding week, supported by foreign institutional buying and falling crude oil prices.
Sun Pharma emerged as the biggest Nifty gainer during the special session, rising 3.17% to Rs 1,919. Tata Steel advanced 2.09% to Rs 190.20, while ONGC gained 1.31% and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles climbed 1.13%.
Among the laggards, SBI Life Insurance declined 1.11%. InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, fell 1.07%, while Bharti Airtel slipped 1.03%.
Sectorally, Nifty Media and Nifty Pharma gained 1.71% and 1.70%, respectively. Nifty Realty declined 0.66%, Bank Nifty fell 0.40% and Nifty IT slipped 0.33%. The Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 1.01%.
Also Read: Nifty 50 Opens Flat at 24,538, Sensex Rises 103.65 Points Amid Global AI Investment Concerns
Market veteran Ramesh Damani believes Indian equities could be entering a new bull market. Raamdeo Agrawal expects potentially bumper returns by next Diwali, citing attractive valuations, improving earnings growth, lower crude prices and renewed foreign investor interest.
Atul Suri expects the Nifty to reach 30,000 over the next 18 months, while Samir Arora cautioned that stronger catalysts, including changes to capital gains taxation and improved currency-adjusted returns, are needed to sustain a bullish trend.