Mumbai, Oct 18 (IANS) A key index of Indian equities markets Saturday closed flat after the 60-minute special Diwali trading session -- also called muhurat.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,452.56 points and shut shop 17,326.01 points, 0.02 percent or 3.19 points higher than Friday's close at 17,322.82 points.

The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended marginally in the negative terrain at 5,141.8 points, down 0.35 points from its last close.

The special session, conducted to pay obeisance to Lakshmi -- the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity -- also marks the New Year for traders as per the Hindu lunar calendar, or Samwat 2066.

Indian markets have been resilient than most others in the wake of the global financial crisis, with the Sensex having gained more than 92.3 percent from the Diwali 2008 and hitting a 17-month high.

The Sensex was at 9,008 points on Oct 28, 2008 -- last Diwali.