The equity benchmarks extended their rally for the third trading session and edged higher on the June series monthly F&O expiry day, with investor sentiment boosted by the easing geo-political situation.
Sensex settled 1000.36 points or 1.21 per cent higher at 83,755.87, hitting an intraday high of 83,812.09, against the previous close of 82,755.51. Nifty 50 soared 304.25 points or 1.21 per cent to 25,549.
The market tone is steadily improving as geopolitical clouds clear, spurring a steady rise in the last three sessions, Vaishali Parekh, VP - Technical Research at PL Capital, said.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said FIIs continued to pare holdings due to the narrowing yield spread between US and Indian 10-year bonds; DIIs emerged as net buyers, buoyed by improving liquidity conditions and a rebound in domestic consumption.
Broader indexes small-caps and mid-caps also gained 0.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively, erasing their early losses.
On the sectoral front, metal, oil & gas, banking and financial stocks outperformed, while media and realty indexes shed over 1 per cent. Across the broader market, key sectors such as banking and auto posted notable gains, supported by easing domestic inflation concerns, Nair added.
Bank stocks saw strong demand, lifting the Nifty Bank index to a new all-time high of 57,263.45. The rally was mainly driven by heavy buying in private sector banks, Bajaj Broking added.
Top gainers & losers today
Among the Nifty 50, Shriram Finance, Jio Financial Services, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco and Eternal emerged as lead gainers. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Tech Mahindra declined over 1 per cent. Wipro, SBI and Hero Motocorp also slipped to close in negative range.
Among the smallcaps, Nuvama, Hindustan Copper, Godfrey Phillips, Aegis Logistics and Trident soared 3 per cent, and Tube Investments, SAIL, Hindustan Petroleum, National Aluminium and Marico gained 3-5 per cent among the midcaps.
Shares of HDFC Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank led the financials, with a 1-2 per cent uptick. Market experts suggest that the prospects of lower funding costs and domestic GDP growth boosted sentiment for bank stocks.
The metal index rose amid a weaker US dollar. Shares of Hindustan Copper, SAIL, Jindal Steel, Vedanta and National Aluminium surged 3-5 per cent.
Other key stocks that soared include: Reliance Industries and NBFCs - Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance and Cholamandalam Investment.
Defence stocks Data Patterns, Dynamatic Technologies and Solar Industries gained 2 per cent, while Mazagon Dock, Cochin Shipyard and Unimech closed in the red.
The market breadth remained positive for the second day in a row as indicated by a BSE advance-decline ratio of 1.90.
About 2,097 stocks advanced on the BSE and 1,900 declined of all the 4,153 stocks that were traded. 127 stocks hit a 52-week high and 37 hit a 52-week low. 13 stocks hit the upper circuit and 10 hit the lower circuit. Jai Balaji Industries zoomed 14 per cent on the BSE.
Technically, the market cleared the 25,300/83,000 resistance mark after open, and post-breakout, positive momentum intensified. Shrikant Chouhan, Head, Equity Research, Kotak Securities, stressed, on daily charts, it has formed a long bullish candle, which supports a further uptrend from the current levels.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said unprecedented put writing and call unwinding ahead of the NSE monthly expiry also signalled bullish aggression yesterday.
Trading volumes on the NSE cash market were higher by 17 per cent compared to yesterday, indicating increased participation, Nandish Shah, Senior Derivative & Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, highlighted.
The rupee has stabilised subsequent to two days of heightened volatility. In the near term, the spot USD-INR is expected to encounter support at the 85.45 level, while resistance is anticipated at 86.60.
On Wednesday, BSE Sensex settled 700 points higher and Nifty 50 climbed 200 points. FIIs offloaded equities worth ₹2,427.74 crore and DIIs bought stocks worth ₹2,372.96 crore, exchange data shows. US markets staged a mixed trend on Wednesday.