Equities overcame an otherwise sombre mood in the first trading session of Vikram Samvat 2081 with the benchmark BSE Sensex gaining more than 335 points in a rally driven by auto stocks on encouraging October sales in the festive season.

In the one-hour special Muhurat trading session, the 30-share gauge jumped 634.69 points to touch a high of 80023.75.

The BSE bellwether settled at 79724.12 — a rise of 335.06 points or 0.41 per cent. At the NSE, the broader Nifty 50 advanced 99 points or 0.41 per cent to close at 24304.35.

The investor sentiment going into Samvat 2081 was a gloomy one as reflected in the 553-point fall in the Sensex on Thursday on account of various factors — persistent selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), concerns of a slowdown in urban demand and muted corporate earnings.

Markets are also worried about expensive valuations and apprehensions over a possible Donald Trump victory in the US presidential elections.

The mood changed on Friday with the release of car sales data for October.

Mahindra & Mahindra, for instance, said it has clocked the highest ever SUV (sports utility vehicle) sales in the month at 54,504 units, a growth of 25 per cent.

The M&M share was the top gainer in the Sensex pack up 3.29 per cent to ₹2,817.

Eicher Motors said the Royal Enfield bikes posted monthly sales of 1,10,574 unit, the highest in the history of the brand.

The Eicher Motors scrip gained 0.78 per cent to ₹4,940.

Among other auto stocks, Tata Motors was up 1.14 per cent, Maruti Suzuki rose 0.29 per cent and TVS Motor, 0.37 per cent.

The numbers brought some relief at a time the industry was singed by higher inventories as consumers pushed back on discretionary spending because of food inflation.

Among other Sensex stocks, while Adani Ports gained 1.26 per cent, Axis Bank was up 0.92 per cent.

Nestle, NTPC, Reliance, ITC Titan, Kotak Bank, Infosys and TCS also settled in the green.

On the losing side, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra and ICICI Bank fell up to 0.55 per cent.

The broader markets also settled higher with the BSE midcap rising 317.72 points or0.69 per cent to 45996.71, while the BSE SmallCap gained 639.73 points or 1.16 per cent.

BSE Auto (1.15 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.10 per cent), and oil & gas (0.91 per cent) were among the major sectoral gainers.

It remains to be seen whether this cheerful sentiment is carried on to next week that will be an eventful one.

Apart from the US elections, many companies will announce their quarterly results.

Volatile trend

Market experts are of the view that stocks could witness volatility in the near term and any major dip could bebought into by those participants who have a long-term perspective.

Samvat 2080 was a rewarding year for investors with the Sensex rising more than 23 per cent.

Many feel while the benchmark indices will give positive returns this year, they are unlikely to match Samvat 2080.

A key development of Samvat 2081 is the start of the domestic rate cut cycle.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to slash the policy repo rate 50-75 basis points between December 2024 and April 2025 amid growth concerns given the financial results of FMCG firms.

Some experts feel investors should look at portfolio diversification by allocating a part of their portfolio to alternative assets such as gold, which is a hedge against inflation and any adverse geo-political events.

“There are recessionary fears in the US and geo-political tensions across the world. Central bankers have been adding gold to their vaults like never before.

“Thus all of these make a strong case to add gold and its poor cousin silver to the portfolio. They will give stability to your portfolio this Samvat,’’ a note from Choice Broking said.

“In today’s market, diversification is essential. Mutual funds, particularly thematic funds in infrastructure, technology and renewable energy, offer a balanced, straightforward way for investors at any stage to benefit from long-term growth trends,” Vivek Goel, joint MD, Tailwind Financial Services said.

“With steady interest rates, fixed-income securities and debt mutual funds offer stability and regular income, while investments in gold and silver remain cherished for their cultural significance and role as hedges against inflation and volatility, Goel said.

Analysts at Motilal Oswal Services said sectors linked to domestic structural and cyclical themes will do well.