Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 8 (ANI): Indian equity benchmarks ended marginally lower during the special Muhurat trading session on Sunday, even as the return of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and expectations of sustained corporate earnings growth supported the outlook for the new Samvat year.

The BSE Sensex opened at 81,299.34 and closed at 80,999.40, down 28.62 points or 0.04 per cent, while the NSE Nifty 50 began the session at 25,070.45 and settled at 24,986.40, lower by 43.95 points or 0.18 per cent.

Market expert Avinash Agarwal said the outlook for the coming Samvat remained constructive, although returns could be moderate and selective. He expects corporate earnings growth, rather than an expansion in valuations, to drive market performance.

'From a market perspective, we believe the outlook for the coming Samvat remains constructive, albeit with expectations of moderate and more selective returns. Earnings growth, rather than valuation expansion, is likely to be the primary driver of market performance going forward,' Agarwal said.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was the top gainer, rising 2.96 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, which advanced 2.09 per cent. ONGC gained 1.31 per cent.

Adani Ports, Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, Bharat Electronics, UltraTech Cement and Eternal also ended higher.

On the losing side, SBI Life Insurance declined 1.11 per cent, followed by IndiGo, which fell 1.07 per cent. Bharti Airtel dropped 1.03 per cent, while Max Healthcare and Infosys declined 0.86 per cent and 0.83 per cent, respectively.

The sectoral performance was mixed, with Nifty Media rising 1.84 per cent and Nifty Pharma gaining 1.70 per cent. Nifty Metal advanced 0.36 per cent and Nifty Auto edged up 0.11 per cent. Nifty Realty declined 0.66 per cent, while Nifty IT fell 0.33 per cent.

At the time of filing this report, Brent crude was trading at USD 97.76 per barrel, down 0.54 per cent, while US crude oil declined 0.20 per cent to USD 90.34 per barrel.

The Muhurat session followed a sharp rally in domestic equities last week, supported by renewed foreign investor buying. Foreign portfolio investors invested Rs 38,971 crore in Indian equities during the week, according to NSDL data.

Agarwal said that companies with strong fundamentals, healthy balance sheets and consistent cash flows were likely to attract greater market interest. (ANI)