Mumbai :Benchmark Sensex surrendered early gains to end over 194 points lower at 32,389.96 in a special Muhurat trading session Thursday to mark the beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2074. Banking stocks led the fall as participants booked profits to write their first entry with gains on the first session of Samvat 2074, brokers said. The broader NSE Nifty too dipped below the 10,200-mark in the special one-hour Muhurat session.
The BSE Sensex opened higher at 32,656.75 and advanced to a high of 32,663.06 on token buying activity as investors and funds opened their new accounts on the first session of Samvat 2074. However, higher levels could not be sustained due to sudden sell-off by participants and the index slipped to 32,319.37, before settling 194.39 points, or 0.60 per cent down at 32,389.96.
The gauge had lost 49.29 points in the previous two sessions. On similar lines, the broad-based NSE Nifty index, after shuttling between 10,211.95 and 10,123.35, ended 64.30 points, or 0.63 per cent lower at 10,146.55. A weak trend at the European stock markets on Spain’s escalating political crisis also fuelled selling towards the fag-end at the domestic bourses here, brokers added.
The Sensex gained 4,642.84 points, or 16.61 per cent, in the Hindu Samvat year 2073, while the broader NSE Nifty surged 1,572.85 points, or 18.20 per cent. Banking, metal, PSU, infra stocks dragged the index.
