Sensex Surges 1,078 pts to 6-Week High on FII Buying

Mumbai, Mar 24 (PTI) Benchmark BSE Sensex surged by 1,078 points to close at a six-week high on Monday as fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in banking and oil & gas shares helped the index extend the winning run to the sixth day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,078.87 points or 1.40 per cent to settle at 77,984.38, a level not seen since February 6. During the day, it zoomed 1,201.72 points or 1.56 per cent to breach the 78,000 level and touch a high of 78,107.23.

The NSE Nifty surged by 307.95 points or 1.32 per cent to 23,658.35. Intra-day, the benchmark zoomed 358.35 points or 1.53 per cent to 23,708.75.

A positive trend in the US and European markets powered the rally in domestic equities, experts said. A sharp rebound in the rupee also bolstered investor sentiment.

From the Sensex pack, NTPC rose the most by 4.61 per cent amid reports that the power PSUs is likely to gain from Indian Railways' shift to renewable and nuclear power.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the second biggest gainer, rising by 4.51per cent after the private lender announced the appointment of a chief technology officer.

State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were among the gainers.

Titan fell the most by 2.68 per cent among Sensex shares. IndusInd Bank, Zomato, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Nestle and Infosys were the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 7,470.36 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

"Short covering ahead of monthly F&O expiry later this week fuelled the rally as the Sensex breached the psychological 78k mark intra-day on across-the-board buying.

"Renewed optimism by foreign investors coupled with strong US and European market cues further bolstered the sentiment," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Domestic markets experienced a robust rally, spurred by value buying as valuations returned to long-term averages and early indications of earnings growth recovery emerged.

Increased government spending and expected monetary easing are anticipated to boost optimism in rate-sensitive sectors such as banking, NBFCs, auto, consumer durables, and real estate, leading to potential outperformance, Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

"The sustainability of this trend will depend on upcoming PMI data, Q4 earnings results, and developments related to reciprocal US tariffs," Nair said further.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.32 per cent and smallcap index climbed 1.17 per cent.

All BSE sectoral indices ended higher, with bankex rallying 2.53 per cent, utilities (2.42 per cent), power (2.31 per cent), industrials (2 per cent), financial services (1.97 per cent), capital goods (1.95 per cent) and realty (1.51 per cent).

As many as 2,496 stocks advanced while 1,640 declined and 162 remained unchanged on the BSE.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher while Seoul and Tokyo ended lower. European markets were trading in positive territory. US markets ended in green on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.07 per cent to USD 72.21 a barrel.

In the six-day rally to Monday, Sensex has zoomed more than 4,100 points or 5 per cent as FII selling eased. Broader Nifty has climbed 1,260 points or 5.5 per cent since March 17.