Diwali Muhurat Trading: The domestic stock market began Samvat 2080 on a solid note on November 12, 2023. The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, opened the one-hour special trading session, popularly known as the Muhurat Trading session, with around 0.7 per cent gains amid across-the-board buying. The 30-share index of the BSE surged as much as 514 points, or 0.79 per cent to 65,418.98 levels, while the NSE Nifty rose 121.9 points, or 0.62 per cent to 19,547.25 levels.

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At close, the Sensex stood at 65,259.45, up 355 points, or 0.55 per cent and the NSE Nifty settled 100 points, or 0.52 per cent, higher at 19,525.55 points.

Commenting on the market outlook for Samvat 2080, Amit Kumar Gupta, founder of Fintrekk Capital, said, "As we step into Samvat 2080, the equity market outlook looks promising in the medium to long term but threatening in the short term. Despite global market headwinds and the upcoming state and general elections, all signs point to India's strengthening position, which is set to become the world's third-largest economy by FY28. Corporate earnings are expected to grow at a CAGR of 15 per cent for the next two years, with over 20 per cent earnings growth anticipated in the BSE 200 over the same period."

Sunil Shah, the director at Khambatta Securities, said that Indian equities are expected to outperform most other global markets in the face of continued geopolitical uncertainties and relatively higher domestic economic growth. The major themes will be domestic consumption and premiumisation, enabling companies to post strong earnings growth aided by margin accretion. Infra and construction plays are expected to do well as the government’s thrust on infrastructure development is seen to continue, while higher budgetary allocation in rural-focus schemes can help drive a recovery in rural consumption, especially with the upcoming budget being the last one before the general elections. 

"Despite rich valuations in the small- and mid-cap segments, companies with fundamentally strong businesses and good earnings growth continue to justify their valuation. If US bond yields start coming down by the second half of CY2024, FPIs will come back to the party. Upcoming state and general elections can make the market move sideways. Inflation, interest rate trajectory, and geopolitical tensions will remain the key risks," the expert added.

Infosys (up over 1.4 per cent) was the top gainer on the Sensex, followed by Wipro (up 0.96 per cent), and Asian Paints (up 0.78 per cent). On the sectoral front, all the indices ended in the green, with IT and energy stocks leading the pack.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index was up 0.67 per cent at 32,783.34 levels, while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was up over 1 per cent at 38,816.08 points.