Sensex, Nifty extend rally for fourth day on Reliance surge
Sensex rose 411 points and Nifty gained 133 on October 20, led by Reliance Industries and strong foreign inflows amid positive global cues
The Sensex and Nifty extended their rally for the fourth straight session on Monday (October 20), closing higher on strong buying in Reliance Industries, upbeat global market cues, and sustained foreign fund inflows. The Indian stock market gained momentum as investors bet on blue-chip stocks.
The BSE Sensex jumped 411 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 84,363.37 on Monday, while the NSE Nifty 50 rose 133 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 25,843.15. Sensex surged as much as 704 points to touch 84,656.56, reflecting continued optimism in the stock market.
Reliance Industries surge ahead
Reliance Industries shares rose 3.52 per cent, leading the rally on the Sensex and Nifty, after the company reported a 9.6 per cent year-on-year rise in quarterly net profit driven by robust growth in its retail and telecom businesses and recovery in its oil-to-chemicals segment. Other top gainers included Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, SBI, TCS, Titan, and Bharti Airtel, while ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, Power Grid, and Eternal ended lower.
However, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Adani Ports and Power Grid were among the laggards.
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Asian, European markets show upward trend
As for the Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled higher.
In Europe, markets were trading in the green. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 308.98 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 1,526.61 crore on the same day.
"The Indian market extended its upward march on Monday, carrying forward the festive rally ahead of the Diwali Muhurat trading session. The Nifty-50 climbed, driven by strong buying in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark, Brent crude dipped 0.29 per cent to USD 61.11 a barrel.
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The backdrop
On Friday, the Sensex jumped 484.53 points or 0.58 per cent to settle at 83,952.19. The Nifty climbed 124.55 points or 0.49 per cent to 25,709.85.
Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,451.37 points or 1.75 per cent, and the Nifty surged 424.5 points or 1.67 per cent.
Stock exchanges BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Tuesday.
The symbolic trading session will be held between 1:45 pm and 2:45 pm. The market will remain closed for regular trading on Tuesday, but a special trading window will be open for one hour.
(With agency inputs)