MUMBAI: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rose for the second consecutive session on Thursday, buoyed by sustained buying in index majors such as ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries, along with renewed foreign capital inflows.
Sentiment was also lifted by expectations of an interest rate cut in the Reserve Bank of India’s policy review on Friday, traders said.
After surging over 900 points during intraday trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 443.79 points, or 0.55 per cent, higher at 81,442.04. It had climbed as much as 912.88 points, or 1.12 per cent, to touch an intraday high of 81,911.13.
On the broader BSE, 2,257 stocks advanced, 1,725 declined, and 147 remained unchanged.
The NSE Nifty also advanced 130.70 points, or 0.53 per cent, to settle at 24,750.90.
“Though profit booking remains evident at higher levels, benchmark indices are regaining momentum. With a softening dollar index and fluctuating US bond yields, foreign institutional investors are turning net buyers again after recent outflows. Strong cues from domestic earnings and growth are prompting a buy-on-dip strategy,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Among Sensex constituents, Eternal was the top performer, rising 4.50 per cent, followed by Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, ITC and Hindustan Unilever.
On the losing side were IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance.
“Markets witnessed volatility on the weekly expiry day but managed to end in the green. The Nifty saw a flat start in the absence of global cues, followed by a sharp rebound. However, late profit-taking trimmed a large portion of the gains,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers on Wednesday, purchasing equities worth Rs1,076.18 crore, as per exchange data.
“FIIs returned as net buyers after two days of selling, pumping in over Rs1,000 crore into domestic equities. Coupled with global cues and hopes of an RBI rate cut, this boosted investor confidence,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research (Wealth Management), Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The BSE smallcap index gained 0.65 per cent while the midcap index rose 0.39 per cent.
Sectorally, realty led with a gain of 1.79 per cent, followed by services (1.09 per cent), healthcare (0.88 per cent), consumer discretionary (0.73 per cent), industrials (0.60 per cent), commodities (0.51 per cent) and financial services (0.43 per cent). Auto and oil and gas indices, however, closed in the red.
Among global markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended lower. European markets traded higher in mid-session. Wall Street closed mixed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, headed by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, began its three-day meeting on Wednesday. Markets are anticipating a 25 basis point rate cut — with some even eyeing a larger cut — to support economic momentum amid global uncertainties triggered by US tariff concerns.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, edged up 0.35 per cent to 65.14 dollars a barrel.
On Wednesday, the Sensex had gained 260.74 points, or 0.32 per cent, to end at 80,998.25, while the Nifty rose 77.70 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 24,620.20.
