Markets shrugged off the dismal showing of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party in the assembly and Lok Sabha bypolls on Thursday with the benchmark BSE Sensex surging 416 points on the last day of May series expiry.
The rally, led by financial, information technology and energy stocks, was fuelled by the hope of good GDP growth numbers for the fourth quarter of 2018 that were expected after market hours.
The Meteorological Department's forecast on Wednesday of a normal monsoon this year in the country, except the east and northeast India, buoyed the sentiment.
The 30-share index opened at 35083.81 on a positive note and rose up to 35416.03 during the intra-day trade, closing at 35322.38, a rise of 416.27 points, or 1.19%. This was the biggest single-session gain for the index since April 5, when it had surged 577.73 points.
The broader Nifty crossed the 10700 mark as it soared 121.80 points or 1.15% settling at 10736.15. During the intra-day trade, the index went as high as 10763.55 after resuming trade at 10670.10.
“It was a positive day on the bourses as political tensions in Europe eased and buoyant trade in Asia boosted domestic sentiment. However, volatility continued to plague markets as traders rolled over positions from current month May series to next month June series. Political turmoil in Italy showed signs of easing with the two anti-establishment parties renewing efforts to form a coalition government rather than force Italy into elections for the second time this year. Despite the broader market trading firm, sectoral performance on NSE was mixed,” Abhijeet Dey, senior fund manager-equities at BNP Paribas Mutual Fund, said.
Sector-wise, banking and finance counters were in the limelight with both BSE Bankex and BSE Finance indices rising 1.91% and 1.71%, respectively. Other gaining sectors on the BSE were Oil & Gas (1.17%), Energy (0.80%) and Information Technology (0.75%). However, 11 out of 19 BSE gauges ended lower with Consumer Durables (-0.97%), Realty (-0.85%) and Healthcare (-0.83%) being the main losers. On the NSE, Nifty Bank emerged as the leader among the gainers, rising 2.39% followed by Private Banks (2.18%) and Financial Services (2.13%).
HDFC Bank (4.36%), IndusInd Bank (3.14%), Kotak Mahindra (2.68%), State Bank of India (1.07%) and YES Bank (0.93%) contributed most to the banking pack.
“The bias was positive from the beginning and strong up move in the banking majors triggered momentum in the last half an hour. However, weakness endured on a broader front, as a result, the market breadth ended on a negative note. Indications are positive and we believe Nifty will test 10800 shortly. However, we're seeing limited participation thus focus should be on stock selection. Global cues, movement in crude oil price and progression of monsoon will dictate the market trend from here on,” Jayant Mangalik, president at Religare Broking, said.
Though the benchmark indices cheered, the broader market continued to fall as both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended in red falling 0.24% and 0.57%, respectively.
On Sensex constituents, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra and Mahindra and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the most gaining stocks rising as much as 4.70%. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Hero Motor Corp, Maruti and TCS were the biggest laggards falling as much as 2.95% on BSE.
According to provisional data, the foreign portfolio investors (FPI) sold shares worth Rs 15.31 crore and the domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 266.02 crore on a net basis on Thursday.
BULLS HAVE A FIELD DAY ON D-STEET
- Banking and finance counters were in the limelight with BSE Bankex and Finance indices rising 1.91% and 1.71%, respectively
- Other gaining sectors on the BSE were Oil & Gas (1.17%), Energy (0.80%) and Information Technology (0.75%)
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