Sensex rises by 354 pts, Nifty closes above 19,500 in Mahurat session

Mumbai, Nov 12 (PTI) Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher by more than half a per cent in the special Mahurat trading session on Sunday driven by across-the-board buying by investors.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 354.77 points or 0.55 per cent to close at 65,259.45 with 28 of its components settling in the green on the first trading session of Samvat 2080.

The broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange advanced 100.20 points or 0.52 per cent to settle at 19,525.55 led by gains in IT, infra and energy shares. As many as 43 Nifty50 stocks ended in green while seven in red.

Muhurat trading is a one-hour, symbolic trading session conducted by Indian stock exchanges on Diwali, a Hindu festival considered auspicious for new beginnings, including investments.

Buyers flooded Dalal Street on the special occasion of Diwali, propelling benchmark indices higher despite the lower volume, marking a strong start to Samvat Year 2080.

Investors' wealth soared by over Rs 2 lakh crore, as reflected in the total market capitalization of BSE-listed companies.

During the Samvat year 2079 ended on Friday, the BSE Sensex jumped 5,073.02 points or 8.47 per cent, while the Nifty climbed 1,694.6 points or 9.55 per cent.

Among the Sensex shares, Infosys rose the most by 1.41 per cent, followed by Wipro (0.88 per cent), Asian Paints (0.78 per cent), and TCS (0.77 per cent).

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC, Kotak Bank, Asian Paints, NTPC and Titan were among the lead gainers.

Ultratech Cement and Sun Pharma were the only losers among Sensex firms.

Broader markets also advanced with the BSE MidCap gaining 0.67 per cent and BSE SmallCap by 1.14 per cent.

All the sectoral indices closed with gains.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) selling spree continued as they dumped Indian equity worth over Rs 5,800 crore this month so far on rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. PTI