Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmarks surged to lifetime highs on Saturday as investors built up fresh positions in the special Muhurat trading session to mark the beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2077.

The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 194.98 points or 0.45 percent to close at a record 43,637.98. Intra-day, it hit its all-time high of 43,830.93.

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 60.30 points, or 0.47 percent, to finish at its lifetime high of 12,780.25. It touched an intra-day record of 12,828.70 during the session.

In the Sensex kitty, prominent gainers were Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, and ONGC, spurting up to 1.17 percent.

Only four constituents closed in the red -- PowerGrid, Titan, UltraTech Cement, and Bajaj Finance, which shed up to 0.32 percent.

Brokers said buying activity gathered momentum as investors opened their new books on the first session of Samvat 2077.

All BSE sectoral indices finished in the green, led by oil and gas, telecom, industrials, realty, tech, and energy.

A similar trend was seen in the broader markets, with the BSE small-cap index jumping 0.84 percent and the mid-cap gauge gaining 0.62 percent.

Domestic markets conduct a special one-hour Muhurat trading session on Diwali every year to mark the beginning of the traditional Hindu calendar year, called 'Vikram Samvat'.

In the previous Samvat 2076, the BSE Sensex gained 4,384.94 points or 11.22 percent, while the Nifty rallied 1,136.05 points or 9.80 percent.

The BSE and NSE will remain closed on Monday (November 16) on the occasion of 'Diwali Balipratipada'.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 1,935.92 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors sold to the tune of Rs 2,462.42 crore, as per provisional exchange data.

 

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Washington/Tehran: A temporary pause in the ongoing conflict appears to be underway after the United States and Iran signalled a two-week ceasefire.

According to updates reported by Al Jazeera, Iran has agreed to a two-week ceasefire after US President Donald Trump said he would suspend attacks, subject to conditions including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The development came after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appealed to Trump to extend the deadline for a deal and urged Iran to fully reopen the key waterway.

In a related statement, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would halt its defensive operations if attacks against the country are stopped.

Sharing a message on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Araghchi said, “if attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.”

He also said that for a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be ensured through coordination with Iran’s armed forces, while noting there could be technical limitations.

The ceasefire announcement marks a significant pause in the conflict, though its continuation depends on both sides adhering to the conditions set out.