Stock market investors celebrated an early Diwali on Thursday as strong buying across index heavyweights sent the benchmark indices soaring.
Continuing their upward momentum for the second consecutive session, the Sensex jumped 1,010.05 points, or 1.22%, to hit an intraday high of 83,615.48 before paring some gains to settle at 83,467.66, up 862.23 points, or 1.04%. The Nifty touched a high of 25,625.40, gaining 301.85 points, or 1.19%, before closing at 25,585.30, up 261.75 points, or 1.03%.
A strong rally in private banking stocks was the key driver of Thursday’s rise in the benchmarks. Four private banks — HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank — together accounted for nearly 50% of the Sensex’s 862-point gain.
“Indian equities closed higher for the day, with the Nifty advancing 262 points (+1%) amid expectations of a domestic earnings rebound and renewed foreign inflows. The rally was broad-based, supported by strong Q2 results and improving sentiment,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research – Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 997.29 crore while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 4,076.20 crore, as per provisional data by the BSE.
Investor confidence was further lifted by progress in India–US trade discussions, with talks in Washington expected to focus on energy cooperation. “We expect markets to edge higher as the earnings season progresses and any positive developments emerge on the trade deal front,” Khemka added.
“The bulls remained in control for the second straight session as the Nifty crossed the psychological hurdle of 25,500. The index also broke above a major falling trendline connecting key tops since the previous record high of 26,277, indicating the potential for further upside in the coming sessions,” said Nilesh Jain, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research, Centrum Broking.
He added that, on the derivatives front, fresh long positions are being built, reinforcing the bullish sentiment. “Momentum indicators and oscillators continue to signal a buy on both daily and weekly charts. Overall, the trend remains positive, with the Nifty likely to head towards 25,800–26,000 levels in the short term, while support has shifted higher to around 25,420,” he said.
The overall market breadth was positive, with an advance-to-decline ratio of 1.31:1 (2,377 gainers against 1,812 losers) on the BSE. However, the broader indices underperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices rising 0.29% and 0.47%, respectively. Investor wealth surged by ₹3.18 lakh crore on Thursday and by ₹7.28 lakh crore over the past two sessions.
All sectoral indices on the BSE ended in the green. Realty, FMCG, consumer durables, banking, and auto were the top sectoral gainers, rising up to 1.87%.
Barring Eternal (down 1.73%) and Infosys (down 0.08%), all Sensex constituents ended higher. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan Company, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, and M&M were the top gainers, advancing up to 2.67%.
Nestle India, which announced its quarterly results on Thursday, beat revenue estimates and emerged as the top Nifty gainer, with its shares rising 4.76% to ₹1,279.50.