Samvat 2069: Volatile Sensex ends lower on Diwali

However, broader markets shine

Domestic equities remained lacklustre and traded subdued in a narrow range on special mahurat trading session on the day of Diwali.

The start of Samvat 2069 was weak, as compared to the last Samvat 2068, for key benchmark indices on mahurat session owing to a decline in global peers.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 51.47 points to close at 18,618.87, weighed down by technology and banking & financials stocks, while the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 16.75 points to 5,666.95.

However, the broader markets outperformed quite nicely led by breweries and media stocks as the BSE Midcap rising 0.9 per cent and BSE smallcap surging over 1 per cent.

Although buying stocks on Tuesday, being the occasion of Diwali and Laxmi Pooja, considered auspicious by the trading community, yet gains were capped on concerns over global growth recovery. Muhurat trading is held every year on Lakshmi Puja day in Diwali to pay obeisance to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity.

And investors make token purchases of shares on Muhurat trading session.
Index heavyweight ITC edged lower in early trade. Reliance Industries (RIL) edged higher. The top sector gainers on BSE were oil and gas, metals which moved up nearly 0.4 percent while software makers and bank sector led the declines booking a loss of 0.2 percent in the opening trades.

Investor sentiment was also lower on the back of concern over growth in the country’s economy after the government on Monday announced a  disappointing set of IIP numbers for the month of September which led to selling pressure in index heavyweights.

Global market sentiments reamined muted on Tuesday as investor sentiment were weighed down by concerns over US fiscal woes and amid uncertainty over Greece's bailout.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1 percent after ending last week down 0.7 per cent at one-week low.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average ended down 0.18 per cent. Likewise China’s Shanghai Composite, South Korea’s Kospi while Singapore’s Straits Times fell in the range of 0.1-1.5 per cent each.

Meanwhile, European shares opened down for fifth straight trading session, France's CAC declined 0.7 percent, Germany's DAX dropped 0.8 percent while FTSE fell 1 percent.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong with as many as 1,638 shares rose and 665 shares fell while a total of 181 shares remained unchanged.