Markets closed today on account of Diwali Balipratipada

New Delhi: Stocks and forex markets will remain closed Thursday on account of  'Diwali Balipratipada'.

Markets kicked off on flying start at the customary Muhurat trading session on Wednesday to welcome Hindu Samvat year 2075. The BSE and NSE is conducted a special 'Muhurat trading' session between 1700 and 1830 hours on the occasion of Diwali.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 245.77 points or 0.70 percent to 35,237.68. The NSE Nifty was just at a touching distance of 10,600. It closed higher by 68.40 points or 0.65 percent at 10,598.40. The total BSE market capitalisation jumped Rs 117731.11 at Rs 1,41,70,545.23 crore at the close of today's special one-hour session compared with Rs 1,40,52,814.12 crore at the end of Tuesday's session.

The special hour-long session held every year on Diwali day to mark the start of the Hindu New Year saw the key equity indices -- S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 -- make gains during the intra-trade period. It is held every year on Diwali is considered to be auspicious for stock market trading. Traders believe that the "Muhurat" trading on this day brings wealth and prosperity throughout the year.

Major gainer in the Sensex pack included M&M, Infosys, Tata Motors, Bajaj-Auto, Heromotocorp, Vedanta, ITC, Asian Paint, Maruti, Tata Steel, Indusind Bank And ONGC, rising by upto 1.97 points.

Among sectoral indices Auto sector rose the most with 1.08 percent gains, followed by Oil & Gas, FMCG, IT, Teck, Realty, Infrastructure, Capital Goods, Power and Metal.

The benchmark Sensex gained 2,407.56 points, or 7 percent, in the Hindu Samvat year 2074, while the broader NSE Nifty rose by 319.15 points, or over 3 percent.