Muhurat trading: Nifty starts Samvat 2073 above 8650,Sensex firm

Moneycontrol Bureau7:20 pm Market falls: The Sensex is down 19.72 points at 27921.79, and the Nifty down 15.55 points or 0.18% at 8622.45. About 1950 shares have advanced, 480 shares declined, and 211 shares are unchanged. 7:15 pm  Market opinion: Motilal Oswal expects earnings growth to pick up momentum from 2QFY17 onwards. Though the market stands at a gain of over 25 percent from CY16 lows, yet the valuations are around 10 year average on 12-month forward earnings multiple, it adds. 7:00 pm Market check: After a spurt in buying, the market has gone flat. The Sensex is up 34.49 points or 0.1 percent at 27976, and the Nifty is up 0.85 points at 8638.85. About 1843 shares have advanced, 357 shares declined, and 157 shares are unchanged.

Lupin, Wipro, Cipla, Sun Pharma and ONGC are top gainers while NTPC, Dr Reddy's Labs, HDFC twins and Adani Ports are losers in the Sensex.

6:50 pm Market view: Udayan Mukherjee says the market has been tracking earnings growth of 8-9 percent. He suggests that one should add to positions if there is a meaningful correction. He is seeing a very protracted and sluggish economic recovery in India. “Key short-term dynamic is higher cost of capital globally, risk of US slipping into recession is a medium-term outlier,” he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

 6:40 pm Market outlook: Atul Suri, Trader thinks tconsumption theme will prove to be rewarding and going ahead.  He says the market will make lifetime highs, but  there may not be a runaway bull market.  He says in an interview to CNBC-TV18, “Power of consistent compounding is  where investors have been rewarded. Over the long term, investors who can  remain invested will be rewarded. Biggest theme of the new year could be EM outperformance.”