EconomyMarkets
Sensex up 1,855 points and Nifty near 24,500 as Dalal Street extends rally into the afternoon
Falling crude and the Democrats' win in the US midterms kept buyers in charge through Thursday, with aviation, paint and finance stocks leading and Brent near $94 a barrel.
Key points
- By 1.30 pm the Sensex was up 1,854.94 points at 79,156.24.
- The Nifty 50 gained 528.70 points to 24,489.30, close to the 24,500 mark.
- Brent crude traded near $94 a barrel, down almost 10% from its recent level.
Buyers stayed in control of Dalal Street into Thursday afternoon. By 1.30 pm the Sensex was up 1,854.94 points at 79,156.24, a gain of about 2.4%, and the Nifty 50 had risen 528.70 points to 24,489.30, within touching distance of 24,500.
The benchmark had touched an intraday high of 79,378.05 earlier in the session, more than 2,000 points above Wednesday’s close. The market is now on course for a sixth straight day of gains.
Two things overseas set the tone. The Democrats’ win in the US midterm elections lifted hopes of an earlier end to the West Asia conflict, and crude oil fell sharply. “Brent has fallen almost 10 per cent to around USD 94.50,” said Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, founder and CEO of HST Wealth. Brent was trading near $94 a barrel in the afternoon, its lowest level since late August.
Crude-sensitive stocks lead
Companies that gain most from cheaper oil led the charge. InterGlobe Aviation, which runs IndiGo, was among the top Sensex gainers, along with Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, Mahindra and Mahindra, and UltraTech Cement. Tyre makers and paint companies rose up to 4%. Oil marketing companies BPCL, HPCL and Indian Oil also traded higher, while upstream producers ONGC and Oil India slipped, since a lower crude price cuts what they earn.
Apollo Hospitals and Bharti Airtel were among the few laggards. Airtel is due to report its September-quarter results later on Thursday.
Gains were broad. Cement, realty, financial services, private banks and IT were among the strongest sectors, and the Nifty Microcap 250 rose about 2%, ahead of the main indices.
Thursday's rally at 1.30 pm
- 79,156.24 SensexUp 1,854.94 points, after an intraday high of 79,378.05.
- 24,489.30 Nifty 50Up 528.70 points, close to the 24,500 mark.
- $94 Brent crudeDown almost 10%, at its lowest since late August.
Foreign money returns
Foreign investors have been buying again. They bought shares worth a net ₹7,284 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data, and about ₹17,235 crore over three November sessions. Domestic institutions sold for a fourth straight day, offloading ₹3,712 crore.
“The sharp advance reflects improving global risk sentiment, supported by lower crude prices and renewed institutional buying,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.
Analysts had flagged 24,000, near the Nifty’s 200-day average, as the level to hold. With the index now well above it, traders will watch whether the gains survive the last hour of trade before the 3.30 pm close.