Sensex rallies 1,000 pts, Nifty tops 23,300; Reliance surges 6% on record Q2
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Indian equity benchmarks started the week on strong note, undermining weak global cues, with Sensex and Nifty rallying over 1% in the early trade. The BSE Sensex surged over 1,000 points and the Nifty 50 reclaimed the crucial 23,300 mark. Reliance Industries led the gains on the back of strong buying interest after reporting record quarterly earnings.
At the time of reporting, the BSE Sensex was up 952.47 points, or 1.28%, to 75,412, while the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 253.15 points, or 1.10%, higher at 23,306.25.
The rally added ₹5.42 lakh crore to investors’ wealth in the first hour of trade as the total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE climbed to ₹480.76 lakh crore.
The broader market participated in the rally, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.99% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.81%. Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Oil & Gas index led gains, rising 3.65%, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables (1.80%) and Nifty Metal (1.55%).
RIL leads Sensex pack
Reliance Industries was the top Sensex gainer, surging 6.36% to ₹1,237.50. The stock's gains followed the company's record second-quarter performance. Tata Steel was the next biggest gainer, rising 3.91%, followed by NTPC (3.13%), Maruti Suzuki (2.78%) and TCS (2.12%).
Other prominent gainers included Bharat Electronics, HCL Technologies, UltraTech Cement and Hindustan Unilever. On the other hand, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell 1%, while Trent, Titan, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra and Infosys were also trading lower.
The gains came amid improving external and domestic cues, with the cooling of Brent crude prices from last week's high of $118 per barrel to around $110 offering some relief to market sentiment. A decline in the US 10-year bond yield to 4.93% also supported equities.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said there were clear indications of a turnaround in the Indian market, supported by positive external and domestic cues.
He said the weakening of the AI trade, which pulled down the Nasdaq by 2.8% on Friday, could benefit India, widely regarded as a counter-AI play. The decline in crude prices and US bond yields were additional positive factors, he added.
Domestic indicators are also supportive, Vijayakumar said, citing 17.94% credit growth and robust GST collections in October as signs of a resilient economy gathering momentum.
He added that rising expectations of a significant overhaul of long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax in the Union Budget, potentially including its abolition, were also supporting market sentiment. “In brief, for now, it is advantage bulls,” he said.
Technical outlook
Hemang Gor, Senior Research Analyst – Derivatives & Technical Research at Axis Direct, said the Nifty's technical bias was cautiously positive. A sustained move above the 23,300 resistance level could open the way towards 23,500, while 23,000 remains a crucial pivot.
The undertone remains constructive as long as the index holds above 22,800, Gor said. A break below this support could expose the index to 22,500.
Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, said a sustained breakout above 23,175 for Nifty could reignite bullish momentum and open the door toward 23,500. On the downside, 22,800 and 22,650 are likely to act as immediate support levels.
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