Key equity benchmarks ended with decent gains in a shortened session marking the start of the Hindu new year, Samvat 2075. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 245.77 points or 0.70% to 35,237.68, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 69.75 points or 0.66% to 10,599.75, as per the provisional closing data. The Sensex settled above the psychological 35,000 level after regaining that level in opening trade.

Trading for Samvat 2075 began on a firm note. Domestic stock markets were open for a special Muhurat trading session today, 7 November 2018 between 17:15 IST and 18:30 IST. Stock markets will remain shut tomorrow, 8 November 2018 on account of Diwali Balipratipada.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.81%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.19%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1934 shares rose and 434 shares fell. A total of 129 shares were unchanged.

Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.92%), Infosys (up 1.50%), ITC (up 1.10%), Bajaj Auto (up 1.01%), Vedanta (up 0.96%) and ONGC (up 0.93%), were the major Sensex gainers.

Hero MotoCorp rose 1% after the company unveiled its new premium motorcycle, the XPulse 200T, at the global platform of the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 November 2018.

The XPulse 200T is a 'Tourer' that offers customers modern technology in retro styling. Built to inspire touring, the XPulse 200T offers easy and comfortable riding posture. The motorcycle offers a host of safety and convenience features such as single channel ABS, LED head and tail lamps, digital speedometer with Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation.