Sensex and Nifty Give Up Gains in Diwali Session

India’s benchmark stock indexes ended lower in the special Diwali Muhurat trading session on November 8, surrendering early gains as Samvat 2083 began. The BSE Sensex fell 28.62 points, or 0.04%, to close at 80,999.40, while the NSE Nifty declined 43.95 points, or 0.18%, to 24,986.40.

Both indexes rose at the start of the shortened session. The Sensex reached an intraday high of 81,442, and the Nifty climbed to 25,132, before losses erased the advances by the close. The session marked the start of Samvat 2083, the Hindu financial year.

The declines ended a seven-session winning run for the benchmarks. The Nifty had gained more than 8% over the preceding week, while the broader market advanced during the Muhurat session. The Nifty MidCap 100 rose 0.13% and the Nifty SmallCap index gained 0.94%, according to reported session figures.

Sector performance was mixed. Pharmaceutical and healthcare shares were among the stronger groups, while banking and information technology stocks weighed on the benchmarks. Sun Pharma and Tata Steel were among the gainers; SBI Life Insurance Company, InterGlobe Aviation and Bharti Airtel were among the Nifty’s biggest decliners.