Sensex touches 8000 briefly in muhurat trading

01 November 2005

Traders on Dalal Street welcomed the New Year on a very positive note. The traditional muhurat trading on the day of Diwali may have lost some of its significance as many traders view it as just another day of trading. However, brokers on the BSE started the New Year with traditional ceremonies and pujas.

Muhurat trading is traditionally an occasion for an auspicious beginning to the traditional Hindu new year. Investors place token orders and buy stocks for their children, which are held for the long term and sometimes never sold. Traders normally book their intra-day profits, however small they may be.

The indices opened on a strong note, helped by strong global markets. Markets across Asia were very strong and as one commentator put it, may have joined in our Diwali celebrations. The Sensex crossed the 8000 mark within minutes of opening.

Volumes were relatively high for a session which lasted just one hour and 20 minutes. Good buying was seen in some of the frontline stocks. The frontline indices held on to their gains for most of the session, but gave up part of their gains in closing trades.

Sensex closed at 7944, a gain of 52 points, and the Nifty at 2387, higher by 16 points. Nifty November futures closed at a discount of 26 points to the spot index.