Bulls return to bourses, indices near record highs

Nifty gained 428.75 points or 1.76%, ending at 24,834.85.

MUMBAI: On Friday, Indian stock markets experienced a significant rally, enabling benchmark indices to recover from losses incurred over the previous five trading sessions.

The Nifty 50 nearly reached a new peak in the final minutes of trading, ending just below its record high of 24,861.15. The Sensex also closed with substantial gains.

Positive cues from Asian markets, coupled with a strong rise in pharma stocks and other major sectors, propelled both indices to impressive gains. At the close, the Sensex surged by 1,292.92 points or 1.62 per cent, finishing at 81,332.72. The Nifty 50 gained 428.75 points or 1.76 per cent, ending at 24,834.85.

Advancers outpaced decliners, with approximately two stocks rising for every one that fell. Out of 3,512 stocks, 2,346 advanced, 1,101 declined, and 65 remained unchanged.

IT, auto, metals, pharma, and infra gained 2-3%

Among the top gainers on the Nifty were Shriram Finance, Cipla, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, and Apollo Hospitals. In contrast, ONGC and Tata Consumer Products were notable losers.

Sector-wise, all sectors posted gains, with information technology, automobiles, infrastructure, metals, and pharmaceuticals leading with increases of 2-3 percent. Other sectors, including banking (both private and public sector), FMCG, real estate, and energy, rose by 1-1.5 percent.

The broader market also saw strong performance, with the S&P BSE Smallcap index climbing 1 percent and the S&P BSE Midcap index advancing by 2 percent. Several stocks reached their 52-week highs on the BSE, including Alembic Pharma, Ashok Leyland, Biocon, Divi’s Labs, Eicher Motors, Grasim, Fortis Healthcare, and Lupin, among others.