FRONT PAGE: After days of gloom, Diwali brings cheer to the markets.

from BUSINESS LINE, October 29, 2008 Mumbai, Oct. 28 - Samvat 2065 (new year) brought some sparkle to Indian stocks. The one-hour Muhurat (auspicious) trading on Tuesday saw the BSE Sensex gain nearly 500 points, after five days of spine-chilling decline that axed 20 per cent off the index.

Unusually for this year, after the worst pre-Diwali session ever, the Sensex gained 5.86 per cent. It opened up by 448 points and did not flag for the rest of the session. The Nifty, too, closed up nearly 6.68 per cent.

Muhurat trading sessions over the last decade have left the indices near flat; the previous year had even seen it decline.

On Monday, the Sensex …