Diwali Bonanza! Sensex surges 525 points, Nifty ends above 17,700

It was a double dhamaka for investors on Diwali eve as Indian benchmark indices closed on a strong note in the one-hour special Muhurat trading session on Monday. Extending their winning streak for the seventh straight session, the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty rallied more than 1%, led by gains in index heavyweights ICICI Bank, L&T, Nestle India, SBI, and HDFC.

The domestic bourses started Samvat 2079, the Hindu calendar year that starts on Diwali, on a positive note, tracking firm cues from European markets which rallied amid report that former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is likely to become the new Prime Minister following the resignation of Liz Truss last week. The 30-share Sensex opened with a gap-up of around 600 points, while it gained as much as 687 points to hit a high of 59,994 marks during the session. Finally, the benchmark index closed 525 points, or 0.88%, higher at 59,832 levels. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rallied as much as 201 points to settle above the psychological level of 17,000 marks. The 50-share index settled at 17731, up by 154 points, or 0.88%.

In line with the benchmark indices, the broader market ended in positive terrain, with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices rising 0.5% and 1%, respectively.

On the BSE Sensex pack, all indices, barring HUL and Kotak Mahindra Bank, all heavyweights closed in green zone. Nestle India topped the chart with 2.92%. Among others, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India (SBI), Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) gained in the range of 1.5%-2%.

On the losing side, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) was the top laggard, falling 3% even after the FMCG major reported better-than-expected earnings in the September quarter. Kotak Mahindra Bank also dropped 0.4% post Q2 results.  

Reliance Industries, the country’s most valued firm, moved in a narrow range, settling 38% higher. The Mukesh Ambani-led company, in a post market release on Friday, reported consolidated profit at ₹13,656 crore in Q2 FY23, against ₹13,680 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenue climbed 33.7% to ₹2.32 lakh crore, led by strong growth across telecom, retail, and oil-to-chemical businesses.

On the global front, shares in the European market witnessed a surge in buying activities amid hope that political uncertainty in the U.K. would settle down as the ruling Conservative Party is likely to pick former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak as a new Prime Minister. U.K.’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.65%, Germany’s DAX surged 1.8%, while France’s CAC index rallied 1.9%. Spain’s IBEX 35 index was the best performer with a 2.3% gain.

In the Asia-Pacific region, most of the markets closed higher, barring Hong Kong and China, tracking a strong finish on Wall Street on Friday. Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei 225 gained 0.31%, and South Korea’s KOSPI rallied 1.04%. Similarly, Taiwan Weighted index climbed 0.3%, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite added 0.5%, and Australia’s ASX 200 index rallied 1.54%.

Bucking the trend, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong plunged 6.36%. In mainland China, the Shenzhen component and the Shanghai Composite dived 2% each.