Diwali Muhurat Picks 2026: Six Stocks to Accumulate in Samvat 2083

For generations, Indian investors have marked Diwali with Muhurat Trading, a symbol of prosperity and a lasting commitment to wealth creation. This year’s session is on Sunday, 8 November 2026, from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm IST.

To mark the occasion, the KSL Research team presents six ideas for disciplined accumulation through Samvat 2083 and beyond, spanning energy, financial services, hospitality, beverages and telecom. Each idea rests on competitive strength, earnings delivery and a defined entry, target and stop-loss.

Samvat 2083: optimism needs earnings support

Wishes alone do not drive markets. Earnings, valuations and liquidity do. Dalal Street enters the new Samvat facing uncertainty on rates, crude, geopolitics and foreign flows, and the backdrop has shifted in recent weeks:

· Rates: The RBI raised the repo rate by 25 bp to 5.50% on 7 October, the first hike since February 2023, and the stance is now “calibrated tightening”.

· Growth and inflation: The RBI projects FY27 GDP growth of 7.1%, alongside a higher CPI inflation forecast of 5.2%.

· Domestic liquidity: SIP inflows hit a record ₹32,490 crore in September 2026, up 10.7% from ₹29,361 crore a year earlier (AMFI).

Our reading is that policy support can no longer be taken for granted while inflation is a concern. Samvat 2083 should reward companies that deliver earnings growth in a demanding environment. Domestic SIP flows, while no shield against corrections, remain a dependable source of capital.

Five forces could shape the year: corporate earnings (revenue must turn into profits and cash flow), foreign investor flows (a sustained return of FII buying would broaden the recovery), interest rates, the Middle East, and crude oil.

Our call for Samvat 2083: selectively optimistic, looking for earnings delivery to broaden the recovery. We will look at lenders with sound underwriting and healthy capital, consumption and auto names with pricing strength, capital goods companies that convert orders into profitable execution, and pharma and healthcare with earnings visibility. We stay selective in IT and tactical in metals, where entry price and position size are crucial.

Our approach: disciplined accumulation

Invest in phases. Keep positions diversified. Size each position to its stop-loss, and let business performance, not headlines, build conviction. Use corrections to reassess value rather than react to them. Gold and silver may glitter this Diwali, but quality equities create wealth when earnings compound and the purchase price leaves room for returns.

The six picks at a glance

Stock	Sector	CMP (₹)	Buy zone (₹)	Target (₹)	Upside	Stop-loss (₹)	Horizon
Coal India	Coal / Mining	389	363–367	457	17%	347	9–12 months
Bajaj Finance	NBFC	939	825–840	1,175	25%	797	12–15 months
ICICI Prudential AMC	Asset Management	2,707	2,550–2,575	3,527	30%	2,459	12–15 months
Indian Hotels	Hotels & Resorts	812	At CMP	1,000	23%	701	12–15 months
Varun Beverages	Beverages	392	325–340	597	52%	287	12–15 months
Bharti Airtel	Telecom	1,974	1,825–1,850	2,251	14%	1,773	9–12 months

Upside is to the final target. Buy zones are additional accumulation levels on dips. Stop-losses are on a closing basis. For Indian Hotels, the plan is to buy at CMP with no dip zone.

1. Coal India: the value anchor of the basket

Coal India is the world’s largest coal producer and a Maharatna PSU, central to India’s thermal-power fuel supply, with long-term fuel supply agreements giving volume visibility. Volumes are turning up. In Q2 FY27, offtake rose 13% year on year to 186 MT and production rose 4% to 151 MT, while H1 FY27 capex was up 27%, supporting evacuation. Revenue was ₹44,179 crore (+21% YoY) and net profit was ₹6,516 crore (+53% YoY).

Valuation offers comfort: roughly 7x P/E and about 1.9x book value for a business with little growth priced in. A ₹10.25 second interim dividend (record date 4 November) adds to the total-return story, and the company has been named preferred bidder for Odisha’s Gadadharpur iron-ore block (288 MT resources), an early step in diversification beyond coal.

Technical view: The stock has made lower highs since its April peak of ₹491 and trades below its 20-EMA (₹405), 50-SMA (₹412) and 200-SMA (₹433). RSI(14) at 34 is close to oversold. The November 2025 base of ₹370–375 is the next demand zone, and the ₹363–367 buy zone sits just beneath it. A close above ₹413 is the first sign of a turn, with further targets at ₹439 and ₹457. A close below ₹347 negates the setup.

Key risks: Q2 profit missed street estimates and fell about 26% QoQ, with e-auction premiums the swing factor. Wage, stripping and logistics costs, clearances, the long-term energy transition and PSU pricing or policy intervention are the other watch points.

2. Bajaj Finance: a re-accelerating consumer lender

Bajaj Finance is India’s most scaled consumer lender, and growth is picking up as credit costs ease. AUM rose 26% year on year to ₹5.85 lakh crore, and management raised its FY27 AUM growth guidance to 26–27% from 23–25%. Credit cost fell to 1.56% from 1.88% a year ago, and management expects H2 FY27 to stay in the H1 range on better 3, 6 and 9-MOB vintages.

The franchise is multi-product, spans urban and rural distribution, and uses data-led cross-sell, adding 4.4 million customers in Q2 alone. Consolidated PAT rose 29% to ₹6,367 crore and NII rose 24% to ₹13,335 crore, in line with a long-term ambition of 20–25% annual profit growth. The stock trades at about 27x earnings and 4.7x book.

Technical view: After the August results gap-up to ₹1,176, the stock has retraced about 20% to ₹939 and is testing its 200-SMA (₹973) from below. RSI(14) at 44 is neutral. The March–April base (about ₹800–860) is the major demand area, and the ₹825–840 buy zone sits inside it, with the ₹797 stop just above the March low of ₹788. Reclaiming ₹991 and the 200-DMA would restore the uptrend, with further targets at ₹1,089 and ₹1,175.

Key risks: The RBI’s hike and “calibrated tightening” stance can lift funding costs and squeeze NIMs. Stress in unsecured retail and short-tenor gold-loan books, regulatory changes in digital lending, risk weights or provisioning, and a roughly 27x P/E that leaves little room for an earnings miss round out the list.

3. ICICI Prudential AMC: the October sell-off is the entry

ICICI Prudential AMC is India’s No. 2 fund house, with quarterly average AUM of ₹11.61 lakh crore (+14.4% YoY) and a 13.3% market share. The core engine is intact: Q2 revenue rose 16.3% to ₹1,674 crore and operating PBT rose 15.7% to ₹1,181 crore. Reported PAT growth of 6.1% was held back by lower mark-to-market other income.

The structural tailwind is the SIP, with industry flows at a record ₹32,490 crore in September 2026, a steady and sticky source of AUM. The business is also capital-light: H1 FY27 ROE was 77.7%, the company declared a ₹30 interim dividend, and growth needs little capital. Valuation is rich at about 37.8x earnings, which is why the entry point matters.

Technical view: Since listing in December 2025 near ₹2,600, the stock peaked at ₹3,611 in May and has made lower highs since. The October slide from about ₹3,250 took it to about ₹2,620. RSI(14) dipped into oversold territory in October and stands at 32. The listing-price base (₹2,530–2,600) is the key demand zone, and the buy zone sits inside it. A close above ₹2,781 would confirm a short-term bottom, with further targets at ₹3,069 and ₹3,527. Below ₹2,459, the base fails.

Key risks: Falling markets cut AUM and fees (industry AUM fell 5.1% in September 2026). Fee pressure from passives, competition and expense-ratio regulation, a mix shift towards lower-yield products, and volatile other income that can swing reported profit are the other risks.

4. Indian Hotels: record quarters and a fresh breakout

Indian Hotels (IHCL) has now posted 18 straight record quarters. In Q2 FY27, consolidated revenue rose 21% to ₹2,566 crore, EBITDA rose 21% to ₹788 crore at a 30.7% margin, and PAT

rose 23% to ₹349 crore. Management raised its FY27 consolidated revenue-growth guidance by 300 bp to 15–17% from 12–14%.

Pricing power is visible at the marquee Taj assets: standalone EBITDA jumped 40% to ₹520 crore, with margin at 38.9%, up 400 bp. The growth runway is asset-light, with 645 hotels operating and 263 more in the pipeline, as management contracts expand the network with little capital.

Technical view: After bottoming at ₹565 in April, the stock reclaimed its 200-DMA in June, built a four-month base between ₹710 and ₹760, and broke out on the October results to a 52-week high of ₹824 on strong volumes. It trades above its 20-EMA, 50-SMA and 200-SMA, all in bullish order. RSI(14) at 70 is overbought, so investors should avoid chasing sharp spikes; the old range top of ₹750–760 should now act as support. Targets are ₹869, ₹933 and ₹1,000, and a close below ₹701 would negate the breakout.

Key risks: Demand is cyclical, and a slowdown hits occupancy and room rates, with high fixed costs amplifying any revenue shortfall. Execution on new openings and a roughly 57x P/E that makes the stock sensitive to slower growth are the other risks.

5. Varun Beverages: the volume engine is firing again

Varun Beverages is PepsiCo’s largest franchise bottler outside the US, with plants, cold chain and retail reach that are hard to replicate. Q3 CY26 volumes rose 28.7% to 354 mn cases (India +22.5%, international +39.9%), and revenue rose 33% to ₹6,816 crore. EBITDA grew 25% to ₹1,427 crore and PAT grew 14% to ₹831 crore.

The international leg, including African territories and the Twizza acquisition in South Africa, diversifies growth and seasonality. As new capacity fills, operating leverage should help margins recover. Gross margin fell 334 bp to 53.1%, so sugar, PET and energy costs need watching.

Technical view: The stock topped at ₹556 in June and has made lower highs since. A 5.5% fall on results day (30 October) took it to ₹392, back to the March 2026 low of ₹381, which is also the 52-week low. RSI(14) at 38 is weak but not oversold. Holding ₹381 would set up a potential double bottom, confirmed by a close above ₹423, with further targets at ₹505 and ₹597. If ₹381 gives way, ₹325–340 is the next accumulation zone.

Position sizing matters here. The ₹287 stop-loss is about 27% below CMP, the widest of the six picks, so size the position accordingly. Other risks include weather and seasonality, acquisition integration and capex execution, franchise dependence, water availability and beverage taxation.

6. Bharti Airtel: premiumisation and tariff discipline

Bharti Airtel’s India mobile ARPU reached ₹264 in Q1 FY27, up from ₹250 a year ago, and a record 1 mn postpaid additions took the postpaid base to 30 mn. Consolidated revenue rose 18.4% YoY to ₹58,539 crore, with an India EBITDA margin of 60.1%.

With the 5G build-out largely done, the focus shifts to monetisation, and operating leverage can lift free cash flow. Home broadband, enterprise (data centres, cloud, security) and Africa diversify growth beyond mobile.

Technical view: Bharti has spent 2026 in a ₹1,730–2,050 range below its November 2025 high of ₹2,175. The early-October dip to ₹1,726 held the same support seen between March and June, and the stock has since rallied 11% in a month to ₹1,974. It has reclaimed its 20-EMA, 50-SMA and 200-SMA on rising volumes, and RSI(14) at 65 shows strong momentum without being overbought. The next hurdles are ₹2,051, then ₹2,139–2,175. Accumulate on dips to ₹1,825–1,850; a close below ₹1,773 negates the setup.

Key risks: Aggressive competitive pricing could slow ARPU gains. Spectrum, network and technology upgrades remain capital-heavy, and regulatory dues, telecom policy changes and African currency and country risks are the other watch points.

Risk and reward: size to the stop

Across the six picks, the average upside to target is about 27%, against an average of about 14% downside to the stop-loss. Ranked by reward-to-risk (upside divided by downside to stop):

1. ICICI Prudential AMC: 3.3x

2. Varun Beverages: 2.0x

3. Indian Hotels: 1.7x

4. Bajaj Finance: 1.7x

5. Coal India: 1.6x

6. Bharti Airtel: 1.4x

Varun Beverages carries the highest upside but also the widest stop, which is why position size should follow the stop, not the headline target.

Risks we will respect

· Persistent inflation and further rate hikes

· Expensive crude and pressure on the rupee

· Earnings misses at demanding valuations

· Foreign outflows and geopolitical escalation

· Speculative excess in small caps and new listings

The takeaway

Samvat 2083 should reward companies that deliver earnings growth when conditions are demanding. Accumulate quality in phases, keep concentration under control, use corrections to reassess value, and match position size to conviction and risk.

Happy Deepavali. Happy Investing. Happy Samvat 2083!

Team KSL Research

---

Disclaimer: Khandwala Securities Limited, SEBI Research Analyst Reg. No. INH000015206. This article is for the personal information of the reader and is not investment, legal or taxation advice, nor a solicitation to buy or sell any security. It does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any reader. Prices are as on 30 October 2026 and may have changed. Investments in securities markets are subject to market risks, and the price of a security can fluctuate or even become valueless. Information is obtained from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed as accurate or complete, and opinions are subject to change without notice. Readers should consider, with or without an adviser, whether any recommendation is appropriate for them before investing.

KSL

Written by KSL Research Team

Delivering institutional-grade research, capital markets expertise, and wealth management strategies since 1934.