EconomyMarkets
Sensex soars 2,009 points to 79,310, Nifty ends at 24,537 as banks and autos power sixth straight gain
Cheaper crude and the Democrats' sweep of the US Congress drove Thursday's rally, with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance doing the heavy lifting and investors richer by about ₹7 lakh crore.
Key points
- The Sensex closed up 2,008.61 points, or 2.6%, at 79,310.01.
- The Nifty 50 rose 576 points, or 2.4%, to 24,536.60.
- Nifty Auto led the sectors with a gain of 4.14%.
Dalal Street had its best day in a long while on Thursday. The Sensex closed up 2,008.61 points, or 2.6%, at 79,310.01, and the Nifty 50 gained 576 points, or 2.4%, to finish at 24,536.60, back above the 24,500 mark.
It was the sixth straight session of gains for the benchmarks. The Sensex had touched 79,372.57 around 2 pm and gave up only a little of that in the last hour and a half of trade. Investors were richer by about ₹7 lakh crore by the close.
Why the market rose
Two things far from Mumbai set the mood. Crude oil kept sliding: Brent, which fell 8.7% on Wednesday, slipped further to around $93.50 a barrel on Thursday, roughly 20% below its recent highs. For India, which imports most of its oil, that means a smaller import bill, less pressure on prices and lower costs for industry.
The second was the result of the US midterm elections. The Democrats’ win in both houses of Congress is expected to push the Trump administration towards diplomacy over the Iran conflict, though no peace agreement has been reached. Wall Street set the lead overnight, with the Dow rising 3.03% to 53,356.12.
A firmer rupee, at a two-week high against the dollar, and a strong rally in government bonds added to the cheer.
Banks do the heavy lifting
Financial shares carried the rally. ICICI Bank alone added 119.19 points to the Nifty, followed by HDFC Bank with 78.31 points and Bajaj Finance with 45.14. Bank Nifty rose more than 3% and the Nifty Financial Services index 3.99%.
Nifty Auto was the best-performing sector, up 4.14%, while realty and IT also gained. InterGlobe Aviation, which runs IndiGo and gains most when jet fuel gets cheaper, rose 5.43%, and Asian Paints 4.36%. Shriram Finance was also among the leading gainers.
The few drags were Bharti Airtel, which cost the Nifty 7.30 points ahead of its September-quarter results, NTPC and Apollo Hospitals. Pharma, healthcare, media and energy lagged the market.
Broad buying
The rally reached beyond the biggest names. The Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.87% to 60,620.90, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 added a more modest 0.56% to 19,132.45. Of 3,723 stocks traded, 2,547 rose and 1,084 fell, and 99 hit 52-week highs.
How Thursday closed
- 79,310.01 SensexUp 2,008.61 points, or 2.6%, a sixth straight gain.
- 24,536.60 Nifty 50Up 576 points, or 2.4%, back above 24,500.
- 60,620.90 Nifty Midcap 100Up 1.87%, while smallcaps rose 0.56%.
Foreign investors have been back in force. They bought a net ₹7,284.03 crore on Wednesday, their biggest single-day purchase in three years, and about ₹20,834 crore over four sessions, while domestic institutions sold ₹3,712.23 crore. Thursday’s figures are due later in the evening.
Analysts had said a close above 24,780 on the Nifty would signal a clearer turn in the trend. The index now stands about 240 points short of that, with crude and the outcome of US-Iran diplomacy likely to decide the next leg.