Markets begin Samvat 2074 on weak note, Sensex tumbles 194 pts

Benchmark Sensex surrendered early

gains to end over 194 points lower at 32,389.96 in a special

Muhurat trading session today to mark the beginning of Hindu

Samvat year 2074.

Banking stocks led the fall as participants booked

profits to write their first entry with gains on the first

session of Samvat 2074, brokers said.

The broader NSE Nifty too dipped below the 10,200-mark in

the special one-hour Muhurat session.

The BSE Sensex opened higher at 32,656.75 and advanced to

a high of 32,663.06 on token buying activity as investors and

funds opened their new accounts on the first session of Samvat

2074.

However, higher levels could not be sustained due to

sudden sell-off by participants and the index slipped to

32,319.37, before settling 194.39 points, or 0.60 per cent

down at 32,389.96.

The gauge had lost 49.29 points in the previous two

sessions.

On similar lines, the broad-based NSE Nifty index, after

shuttling between 10,211.95 and 10,123.35, ended 64.30 points,

or 0.63 per cent lower at 10,146.55.

A weak trend at the European stock markets on Spain's

escalating political crisis also fuelled selling towards the

fag-end at the domestic bourses here, brokers added.

The Sensex gained 4,642.84 points, or 16.61 per cent, in

the Hindu Samvat year 2073, while the broader NSE Nifty surged

1,572.85 points, or 18.20 per cent.

The laggards in the Muhurat session were banking, metal,

PSU, infrastructure, power, oil & gas, auto, consumer

durables, healthcare, realty, FMCG and IT sectors.

The broader markets outperformed the overall trend as

investors created fresh positions, lifting the BSE small-cap

index by 0.54 per cent and mid-cap index by 0.17 per cent.

Both the exchanges will be closed tomorrow for 'Diwali

Balipratipada'.

Globally, in the euro zone, Frankfurt's DAX fell 0.63 per

cent, while Paris CAC 40 shed 0.54 per cent. London's FTSE too

fell 0.35 per cent.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.92 per

cent, Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.34 per cent, while

Japan's Nikkei ended 0.40 per cent higher.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)