Indian markets open Samvat 2083 with flat Sensex and modest Nifty decline

Indian equity markets opened the Samvat 2083 year with a muted performance in the special Muhurat trading session on Sunday. The BSE Sensex ended 28.62 points, or 0.04%, lower at 80,999.40 after reaching an intraday high of 81,442, while the NSE Nifty50 closed 43.95 points, or 0.18%, down at 24,986.40 after touching 25,131.85.

The Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap indices rose 0.13% and 0.94% respectively. Sectoral gains were led by pharma and healthcare, whereas banking and private-bank stocks declined.

"After two years of stagnation, market has the potential to give investors bumper returns by next Diwali, because of confluence of low valuation and high earnings growth. Potential crash in oil prices, stable currency, return of foreign investors, moderation of AI hype and broad-based earnings growth will support higher valuation multiples," said Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman and Co-Founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

"Overall, the session reflected cautious optimism rather than aggressive buying, with investors maintaining a selective approach. As the new Samvat year begins, market direction will depend on corporate earnings, domestic growth, foreign fund flows, global developments and crude oil movements," said Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at Lemonn.

Active trading was seen in shares of Divi's Laboratories, Finolex Cables, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. Sun Pharma and Tata Steel were the top gainers, while Mahindra & Mahindra and InterGlobe Aviation recorded the largest losses.

Company-specific moves included KIOCL rising 3.13% after reporting a net profit of ₹5 crore for the September quarter, and HBL Engineering falling nearly 8% following a 50% profit decline in the same period.