Sensex jumps 773 points, Nifty ends above 25,250 as banks and autos extend November rally
Benchmarks closed near 1% higher after the Diwali-Balipratipada holiday, helped by softer crude prices and continued foreign buying; IT and pharma lagged.
Indian shares extended their November rally on Wednesday as markets reopened after the Diwali-Balipratipada holiday, with banking and automobile stocks leading the gains.
The BSE Sensex rose 772.75 points, or 0.95%, to close at 81,879.40, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 210.40 points, or 0.84%, to finish at 25,255.05, according to closing reports by HDFC Sky and Kotak Neo. Both indices had ended Monday's session at their highest levels since late February.
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Sectors and stocks
Public sector banks were the strongest group, with the Nifty PSU Bank index up 2.94% and the Nifty Bank index up 1.76%. Information technology, realty and pharma stocks slipped by roughly 0.4% to 0.5%. The broader market outperformed, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 up 1.61% and the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.81%.
Mahindra & Mahindra was the top Nifty gainer, rising about 5.3%, followed by InterGlobe Aviation, Trent, Tata Steel and BSE Ltd. Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Nestle India were among the main decliners. Market breadth was positive, with 2,756 stocks advancing against 1,555 declining, HDFC Sky reported.
What drove the gains
Lower oil prices continued to support sentiment. Brent crude briefly fell below $90 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since August after US President Donald Trump said the Iran conflict was effectively over militarily, before edging back to around $92-93 on Wednesday. Cheaper crude eases concerns about India's import bill, inflation and pressure on the rupee.
Foreign portfolio investors have also returned in force. HDFC Sky said they had bought about $5.68 billion of Indian shares so far in November, the strongest monthly buying since September 2024, after heavy selling in September and October. The Nifty and Sensex have gained close to 10% this month.
Headwinds ahead
Analysts flagged risks from abroad. Wall Street fell overnight after hotter-than-expected US inflation data pushed up Treasury yields and raised expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December, which could weigh on emerging-market assets. At home, investors are awaiting October retail inflation data, due on 12 November, which economists expect to be close to the Reserve Bank of India's 6% upper tolerance limit.
In commodities, December gold futures on the MCX rose 0.75% to Rs 1,41,580 per 10 grams and silver gained 2.92% to Rs 1,87,910 per kg, Kotak Neo reported. Separately, mutual fund SIP inflows eased to Rs 32,160 crore in October from Rs 32,490 crore in September.
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