Sensex surges 905 pts Nifty tops 22 900 on heavy buying in banking FMCG stocks

Mumbai, Oct 29 (PTI) Stock markets rallied more than 1 per cent on Thursday, with benchmark Sensex soaring 905 points on heavy buying in banking and FMCG shares, and easing crude oil prices.

     The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped by 905.01 points, or 1.24 per cent, to close at 74,151.04.

     The 50-share NSE Nifty settled 237.90 points, or 1.05 per cent, higher at 22,936.75.

     Among the Sensex constituents, Adani Ports emerged as the biggest gainer by rising over 5 per cent after the company reported an 18 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,682.44 crore for the September quarter, driven by higher revenue.

     Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, NTPC, Bharat Electronics Ltd and Infosys also closed in the positive territory.

     Trent, Maruti Suzuki India, Tech Mahindra and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

     "Indian equities rallied as the US Fed’s rate pause, marginal easing in crude and renewed institutional buying improved risk appetite despite a challenging external backdrop.

     "FMCG led gains on resilient consumer demand, while financials, IT, realty and power strengthened, with mid- and small-caps also participating, signalling healthier market breadth," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd.

     He said the broader thesis remains supported by selective earnings resilience and domestic demand stability, although elevated input costs could test margin durability. However, elevated Brent, rupee weakness, rising domestic bond yields and prevailing geopolitical uncertainty remain key risks.

     Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.18 per cent to USD 113.96 per barrel.

     In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended lower, while Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark settled in the green.

     European markets were trading higher in mid-session deals on Thursday. US equity markets ended higher in overnight deals on Wednesday.

     "Near-term momentum will hinge on domestic earnings breadth, continuity of foreign flows and moderation in energy prices while the global inflation trends and policy signals from other major central banks could keep yields and capital flows volatile," Nair added.

     Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 871.83 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were also net buyers of shares worth Rs 643.35 crore, according to the exchange data.

     On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 352.64 points to settle at 73,246.03, while the NSE Nifty50 dropped 50.90 points to close at 22,698.85.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)