Delhi, 21 October (H.S.): The Indian stock market upheld its tradition by closing with modest gains during the special one-hour Muhurat trading session for the festival of Diwali, marking the eighth consecutive year of a positive finish for this auspicious event. Despite a strong opening, the benchmark indices briefly succumbed to profit-booking pressure, dipping into negative territory before a late-session recovery guided them to a close in the green.

The BSE Sensex concluded the session at 84,426.34, up by 62.97 points, or 0.07%. The index experienced significant volatility after opening at 84,484.67, climbing to an intraday high of 84,665.44 before touching a low of 84,286.40.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 ended 25.45 points higher, or 0.10%, at 25,868.60, after oscillating between a high of 25,934.35 and a low of 25,825.80.Market activity revealed broad-based strength, with most sectoral indices ending in positive territory.

Metal, Media, Power, and Healthcare sectors witnessed consistent buying interest. However, the Banking and Consumer Durables indices bucked the trend, closing with marginal losses. The broader market displayed robust performance, with the BSE MidCap index rising 0.23% and the SmallCap index surging 0.91%.

Market breadth was decidedly positive, as 2,127 stocks advanced on the NSE compared to 613 that declined.

Key performers that led the gains included:Cipla (+1.49%)Bajaj Finserv (+1.37%)Axis Bank (+0.92%)Infosys (+0.79%)JSW Steel (+0.64%)Conversely, the prominent laggards for the session were:Kotak Mahindra Bank (-0.76%)HCL Technologies (-0.63%)ICICI Bank (-0.60%)Max Healthcare (-0.46%)Asian Paints (-0.45%)

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar