Markets end at 17-month high as Samvat 2065 ends

A strong response to the initial public offer (IPO) of Indiabulls Power coupled with sustained buying by foreign funds and higher global stocks also boosted investor sentiment at Dalal Street this day, coupled with other factors. 

The new Samvat year 2066 as per the Hindu calendar begins on Saturday, 17 October 2009 and the muhurat trading at Bombay Stock Exchange  will run continuously for an hour from 1815 hours to 1915 hours to pay obeisance to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity.

Token investments

Investors make token purchases on the Muhurat trading day to mark the beginning of the new Samvat year as per the Hindu calendar, while the market remains closed on Monday, October 19, 2009 on account of Diwali.

 Bombay Stock Exchange  Sensex on Friday rose 127.62 points to 17,322, its highest closing since 16 May 2008. National  Stock Exchange’s S&P CNX Nifty rose 33.30 points to close at 5,148.35, its highest closing since May 16 2009 .

Total traded turnover was at Rs 81,371 crore. This included Rs 18,926 crore from the National  Stock Exchange’s cash segment, Rs 56,191 crore from the National  Stock Exchange’s Futures  and Options segment and the balance which was from Rs 6,254 crore from the Bombay Stock Exchange  cash segment.

Market breadth positive

The market breadth was positive with as much as 1,554 shares advanced while 1,316 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange  and nearly 358 shares remained static.
Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 15 rose while the rest fell.

Foreign bourses

Meanwhile in bourses abroad during the day, European shares pulled back from early gains with key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were down by between 0.24 to 0.53 per cent.

 Trade in Asian bourses were mixed with key indices in South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore were down by between 0.11 to 1.12 per cent, while indices in Japan, and Taiwan rose by between 0.06 to 0.18 per cent. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.31 per cent.