Market Begins Samvat 2078 On Positive Note, Sensex Rises 296 Points

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top movers in the Sensex.

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start to Samvat 2078, the Hindu New Year, in the special Muhurat Trading session to mark the festival of Diwali. The Sensex rose as much as 436 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 17,947 as traders and investors made customary trades to mark the auspicious occasion. In the one-hour long session, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top movers in the Sensex, which saw twenty five out of 30 shares close on a positive note.

The Sensex ended 296 points or 0.5 per cent higher at 60,068 and Nifty 50 index advanced 88 points to close at 17,917.

For the trading communities the new financial year begins with the next day after Diwali. That is the reason pooja is performed for account books, safes and tijoris on Dhanteras as well as on Diwali day. A coin is placed on the account books before the pooja which is supposed to signify wealth, and the coin is preserved and again used in the pooja in the next Diwali, BSE said.

Meanwhile, buying was visible across the sectors as all the 19 sector gauges, barring the measure of metal stocks, on the BSE ended higher led by the S&P Auto index's over 1.5 per cent gain.