BSE holds Muhurat Trading

Mumbai, Oct 26 (IBNS) BSE Ltd. (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) welcomed the Samvat Year 2068 with much fanfare and panache.

The Lakshmi Pooja and the Muhurat Trading Session on Wednesday from 4.45 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. was graced by a lot of recognized personalities from broking fraternity, corporates and Bollywood too.

Muhurat (auspicious) ´Muhurat trading´ marks the beginning of the new trading year for the Gujarati community, who form the bulk of share brokers in India.

Actress Mahima Choudhary was at the Exchange for the 'Opening Bell'.

BSE Liquidity Enhancement Incentives Programme (LEIPS) which was launched last month on Sep 28 has received quite an encouraging response. BSE derivatives segment is seeing daily volumes rising above Rs 200 crores within 10 days of start and has touched a record figure of Rs. 546 crores on Monday with over 120 members participating daily.

On the occasion of Muhurat Trading Day and after a successful launch of LEIPS - Beta, BSE announced its LEIPS Phase II. The programme will focus on building a healthy derivatives order book for the SENSEX and its underlying 30 stocks by incentivizing investor and market maker participation across the board.

On the backdrop of festive mood, BSE commenced its evening by felicitating top volume brokers in Equity, Derivatives, Mutual Fund, Fixed Income, Settlement of Corporate Bonds segments and IPO / FPO Members.

For the trading communities the new financial year begins with Diwali. That is the reason pooja is performed for account books, safes and tijoris on Dhanteras as well as on Diwali day.

A coin is placed on the account books before the pooja which is supposed to signify wealth, and the coin is preserved and again used in the pooja in the next Diwali.

The stock brokers perform "Chopra Pooja" at the exchange and a customary ´Muhurat Trading´ trading takes place at the stock exchange.

The story goes that on the night of Lakshmi Pooja, the Goddess comes to reside at the place of the pooja, that is the reason the traders and shopkeepers keep awake with lights burning all night to welcome Lakshmi any time she chooses to come.