Heavyweights lift Nifty above 23,400; Sensex jumps 564 points
ADVERTISEMENT
Indian benchmark indices ended higher on Monday, with the Nifty 50 gaining 67.90 points, or 0.29%, to 23,414.30, marking its fourth straight session of gains. The index also managed to finish above the 23,400 mark.
The Sensex jumped 564.03 points, or around 0.76%, to settle at 74,858.99, supported by gains in several heavyweight stocks. The broader market, however, remained weaker, with both mid- and small-cap indices ending in the red.
Heavyweights drive Nifty gains
Among Nifty stocks, Eternal was the top gainer, rising 2.77%, followed by HCLTech, which gained 2.54%. ITC rose 1.79%, while Sun Pharma added 1.72%.
Heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank also contributed to the index's gains, rising 1.71% and 1.16%, respectively. TCS advanced 1.13%, while Max Healthcare , Titan and HDFC Life also ended higher.
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel was the biggest Nifty laggard, falling 3.33%. Adani Ports declined 2.02%, while Bajaj Finance , Power Grid, Adani Enterprises , Wipro and Infosys were among other major losers.
Pharma shines, broader market under pressure
Sectorally, Nifty Pharma emerged as one of the strongest performers, rising 1.16%. The rally came despite weakness in some pharma counters following regulatory developments.
Nifty FMCG gained 0.95%, while Nifty Realty advanced 1.14%. Nifty Bank rose 0.20%, led by gains in private lenders, while the Nifty Auto index edged up 0.08%.
IT stocks remained mixed, with Nifty IT declining 0.08%. Metal stocks were also under pressure, with Nifty Metal falling 0.61%.
The broader market failed to match the benchmark gains. Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.29% to 62,013.10, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.07%.
Among individual stocks outside the benchmark, Patanjali Foods surged nearly 8% following positive commentary, while Cohance also rose more than 5% despite observations for its API unit by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Capital-market stocks ended lower, with BSE Ltd falling nearly 3% and OFSS declining more than 8% amid concerns related to the debt position of its parent company.
The rupee gained 15 paise to close provisionally at ₹95.81 against the US dollar on Monday.
Meanwhile, stocks such as Voltas and Blue Star gained up to 3% after the India Meteorological Department's rain-deficit forecast, while Welspun Corp , Refex and Tega Industries rose on order-win related developments. Tega Industries also touched a 52-week high during the session.