Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices ended Sunday’s Muhurat trading session on a subdued note, with losses in banking and IT stocks weighing on sentiment.
The special 70-minute trading window is scheduled from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm. The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) is also observing the same trading hours.
People in traditional attire ring a ceremonial bell at NSE event celebrating Dalal Street start of Samvat.
Actors Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure and Sheeba at the ceremony to ring the Muhurat Bell to mark the opening of the special Muhurat Trading session on the occasion of Diwali, at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai on Sunday, November 8.
The session began on a positive footing, marking the start of Samvat 2083, but the early gains did not hold.
The 70-minute special window ran from 2:20 pm to 3:30 pm, with the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) observing the same hours.
At the opening bell, the Sensex gained around 250 points and the Nifty advanced nearly 40 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 81,442 and a low of 80,932 during the session. It closed 28.62 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower at 80,999.40.
The Nifty hit an intra-day high of 25,132 before giving up its gains, and settled 43.95 points, or 0.18 per cent, lower at 24,986.40, below the 25,000 mark.
The markets had entered the new Samvat amid renewed optimism, after their strongest weekly gains in nearly six years.
The Nifty surged more than 8 per cent over the preceding week, and both the Sensex and Nifty had extended their winning streak to seven consecutive sessions.
Among the Nifty constituents, SBI Life Insurance Company, InterGlobe Aviation and Bharti Airtel were among the biggest losers.
Mahindra & Mahindra was also among the top laggards. Sun Pharma and Tata Steel emerged as major gainers.
The broader market showed resilience, with the Nifty MidCap 100 rising 0.13 per cent and the Nifty SmallCap index gaining 0.94 per cent.
Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare were among the top-performing sectoral indices, while Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank saw the steepest declines.
“From a market perspective, we believe the outlook for the coming Samvat remains constructive, albeit with expectations of moderate and more selective returns,” market experts stated.
“Earnings growth, rather than valuation expansion, is likely to be the primary driver of market performance going forward,” analysts said.
“As we step into the new Samvat, our view is that India remains well-positioned to deliver sustainable long-term growth.
The focus should remain on quality, earnings resilience and prudent investing. We wish investors a prosperous Samvat filled with wealth creation and financial success,” market experts noted.
Muhurat trading is a special truncated session held on the occasion of Diwali.
Coinciding with Lakshmi Puja, it is considered auspicious and marks the beginning of the Vikram Samvat, or the Hindu financial year.
Many investors see it as a good time to make fresh investments, believing it brings prosperity in the year ahead.
