Indian equity benchmarks ended Monday's session on a strong note, extending early gains as BSE Sensex settled at 77,269, rallying 356 points or 0.46%, while NSE Nifty50 closed trading above 24,119, advancing 122 points or 0.51%. According to reports from Upstox, the Sensex rose as much as 997 points and Nifty50 touched an intraday high of 24,290 during the session, led by gains in Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, Hindustan Unilever and ICICI Bank. The benchmarks, however, came off intraday highs on account of profit booking at higher levels. All 16 major sectoral indices traded in the green, with 11 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by NSE ending higher, led by the NIFTY Realty index's 2.4% gain. NIFTY Midcap 100 index rose 0.63% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.7%, highlighting broad-based participation across market segments.
Election results were declared for four states and one union territory today, with the BJP establishing a decisive victory in West Bengal, leading on 193 out of 293 seats, and returning to power in Assam where it was leading on 99 out of 126 seats. As reported by Upstox, in Tamil Nadu actor Vijay led TVK was leading on 105 seats and in Kerala United Democratic Front (UDF) backed by Congress was leading on 90 out of 140 seats. Analysts noted that with BJP coming to power in West Bengal, its number of seats in the Rajya Sabha will increase and lead to better policy stability going ahead. The election results provided clarity on political outcomes in key states, contributing to the overall positive market sentiment during the trading session. Market experts suggest this could add 50 bps to GDP, though crude oil prices and developments in West Asia would continue to guide market trends.
Adani Ports emerged as the top gainer in NIFTY50, rising 5.4% to close at ₹1,747, followed by Eicher Motors, Jio Financial Services, Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries, Shriram Finance, Hindustan Unilever and Larsen & Toubro, which rose between 2.14% and 3.11%. According to Upstox, NIFTY Healthcare, Metal, Pharma, FMCG, Auto and Financial Services indices also rose between 0.4% and 1%. Dr Lal Path Labs surged 20% to ₹1,640 on the back of high trading volume, while HFCL shares rallied 11% to hit a 52-week high of ₹128.49 after the company secured purchase orders worth ₹84.23 crore for optical fibre cables. Trading volumes surged past 7.9 million shares across both stock exchanges, according to data collected from Trendlyne.
Global cues remained supportive, particularly due to easing concerns around crude oil prices. As reported by Upstox, President Donald Trump's declaration that the US will start helping free ships stranded in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on Iran helped alleviate immediate fears of supply disruptions, offering relief to oil-importing economies like India. There is a latest proposal from Iran to the US delivered through Pakistan, adding to the positive sentiment around crude oil price stability. While there could be a significant delay in finding a full-fledged solution to the Iran war, resumption of major attacks between the US and Iran looks more unlikely, lending stability to markets.
Market breadth remained firmly positive, with 2,140 shares ending higher while 1,187 closed lower on the NSE, as reported by Upstox. Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top loser, falling 3.18% to close at ₹371 after its Q4 earnings failed to enthuse investors, with net profit in March quarter rising 13% to ₹4,027 crore. Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs, ONGC, TCS, IndiGo, Infosys and ITC were also among the top laggards in the NIFTY50 index. The overall market breadth was positive, reflecting widespread buying interest across sectors and demonstrating the strength of the rally despite some profit booking at higher levels.
