Markets start Samvat 2066 on flat note

On the first day of the traditional Hindu calendar year, the Sensex ended at 17,326, a gain of just 3 points. The Nifty ended almost unchanged from Friday’s closing value of 5,142.

The Sensex started the 60-minute special trading session on a positive note, advancing 171 points at its highest point but could not sustain the gains as the session progressed.

While consumer durable, IT and metal stocks saw some buying activity, banking stocks were under pressure. The market breadth on the BSE was however strong, with 1934 stocks advancing while 581 stocks declined. The BSE smallcap index ended 1.36 per cent higher while the midcap stock gained 0.65 per cent.

Angel Broking CMD Dinesh Thakkar said valuation concerns have been overdone. Though the market has sharply appreciated, it is still not overvalued, he said, adding that the visibility on corporate earnings would be key driver for the markets.

Sanjay Sinha, CEO of DBS Chola Mutual Fund, said in case the earnings disappoint in some cases, markets might be cushioned by higher foreign inflows on the back of strengthening rupee.

Some sectors like IT and pharma have not fully participated in rally seen over the last year. If rupee headwinds are not too strong, they could be the sectors to watch for in Senvat 2066, Sinha added.

Among the Sensex stocks, exactly half of them advanced while other half declined.

Sterlite Ind was up 2.9 per cent to be the biggest gainer among the group. TCS, ACC, Bharti and RCom posted over 1 per cent gains each.

Bank stocks ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank closed down nearly 1 percent

• Penelope Cruz