The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Sensex closed 34 points higher at 17,289 after Wednesday's Muhurat trading session on the day of the India’s festival of Diwali.

Last year, the Sensex had closed at 21,005, its highest ever close. However, the index has fallen 18% since then. The one-and-half-hour special trading session had started in the evening after Bollywood actor Mahima Choudhary hit the opening bell at the BSE. With several brokers and family members at the scene, the index climbed to 17,350 but closed slightly lower than the level. Meanwhile, the regulators have moved to cancel the derivatives trading secession after suspecting wrongdoing by a broker. The BSE announced its decision to cancel all the transactions in the derivatives segment, two hours after the closing. The authority had identified an unusual volatility in sensex futures. However, the decision does not affect the deals made on the cash segment on the Stack market.

According to reports, a broker based in Delhi had used software to manipulate trade in sensex futures. The low for the day in sensex futures was 14,000 and the average price for the broker was about 15,000. The segment’s turnover was suspected to be a whooping Rs 27,000 crore, which a huge amount compared to a recent high figure of about Rs 500 crore.