Sensex and Nifty End Marginally Lower in Special Muhurat Trading After Seven-Day Rally

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower in the special Diwali Muhurat trading session on Sunday, snapping a seven-day market rally as investors engaged in profit-taking. The special trading session marked the beginning of the Hindu calendar Samvat 2083.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a bullish note and touched a high of 81,442.11, surging 414.09 points or 0.51 per cent. However, the barometer failed to sustain the momentum and dipped 28.62 points, or 0.04 per cent, to settle at 80,999.40. Out of its constituents, 16 ended higher while 14 declined. Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 43.95 points, or 0.18 per cent, to end at 24,986.40 after starting the session on a positive note.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, and Axis Bank emerged as the biggest laggards. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Maruti, and Power Grid were among the key gainers. Broader markets showed positive momentum, with the BSE SmallCap Select index jumping 1.18 per cent and the MidCap Select index rising 0.22 per cent.

Sectoral performance was mixed during the session. Realty, Focused IT, Top 10 Banks, Consumer Durables, PSU Bank, Bankex Private Banks, and IT indices closed in the red. Conversely, Healthcare, Industrials, Capital Goods, Hospitals, and Housing Finance registered gains.

Despite the marginal dip in the benchmark indices, overall investors' wealth surged by ₹2.60 lakh crore to reach ₹5,05,67,743.40 crore ($5.37 trillion). Market participants also noted the previous performance, as the BSE benchmark had tumbled 3,398.32 points, or 4 per cent, and the Nifty declined 838.25 points, or 3.24 per cent, during the preceding Samvat Year 2082. On Friday, the final trading session of Samvat 2082, the Sensex had surged 1,718.01 points to settle at 81,028.02, while the Nifty rallied 493.75 points to close at 25,030.35. Over the past seven consecutive sessions leading up to the holiday, the Sensex had gained 7,781.99 points, or 10.62 per cent.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were active in the market, purchasing equities worth ₹13,749.82 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Meanwhile, US equity markets ended mostly higher ahead of the weekend.

Commenting on the market outlook, Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman and Co-Founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, stated that after two years of stagnation, the market has potential driven by low valuation, high earnings growth, stable currency, and return of foreign investors. Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at Lemonn, added that as the new Samvat year begins, market direction will depend on corporate earnings, domestic growth, foreign fund flows, global developments, and crude oil movements.

"The slight correction during the Muhurat trading session is a natural outcome of profit-taking after a robust seven-day rally. It is encouraging to see investors' wealth expand significantly as Samvat 2083 begins. For long-term stakeholders, market movements should be evaluated through the lens of fundamental corporate earnings, macroeconomic stability, and disciplined capital allocation rather than short-term festive sentiment." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes