Indian benchmarks slip marginally in Deepavali Muhurat session, ending seven-day rally

The BSE Sensex fell 28.62 points, or 0.04%, to 80,999.40 in the Deepavali Muhurat trading session on Sunday, while the NSE Nifty slipped 43.95 points, or 0.18%, to 24,986.40. Both indices had opened the session on a bullish note, with the Sensex briefly reaching a high of 81,442.11, up 0.51%.

Sixteen of the Sensex’s 30 constituents ended higher and fourteen lower. Among the laggards were Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent, Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank, while Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Maruti and Power Grid were among the gainers.

Muhurat trading, a short session held on Deepavali to mark the start of the new Hindu calendar year, is considered auspicious by market participants. In the previous financial year, the BSE benchmark fell 3,398.32 points, or 4%, and the Nifty declined 838.25 points, or 3.24%.

Foreign Institutional Investors bought equities worth ₹13,749.82 crore on Friday, Nov 6, according to exchange data. The Sensex had jumped 1,718.01 points, or 2.17%, to 81,028.02 that day, and the Nifty rose 493.75 points, or 2.01%, to 25,030.35. Over the preceding seven sessions, the Sensex gained 7,781.99 points, or 10.62%, and the Nifty added 2,331.5 points, or 10.27%.