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"Muhurat Trading" is one of the oldest stock market traditions, and if you've been unsure about that first plunge into the world of stocks, this Sunday may just be the moment you've been waiting for. 

So what is Muhurat Trading, you ask? It is a special one-hour trading session held on Diwali that's considered to bring good luck to traders. 

And it’s not random: The trading hour is chosen after a lot of astrological considerations, making sure that the stars are aligned correctly. 

The tradition dates back half a century to 1957 at the Bombay Stock Exchange, when people would physically show up on trading floors during the auspicious hour. It's also accompanied by rites and rituals that are supposed to shower traders with blessings.

This year it’s scheduled between 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on November 12.

So, with all this talk of luck and prosperity, how has the market actually performed on Muhurat Trading over the years?

Well, in the past 15 years, the markets have closed lower only on three occasions during the hour of trading — 2012, 2016 and 2017. It has been all green in the past five years. The upward movement has mostly been incremental, though, ranging between 0.5% to 1%. But at the height of the global economic crisis of 2008, the benchmark indices surged over 5% during Muhurat Trading.

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