Indian Equity Indices Bounce Back as Banking Stocks Rally
Mumbai: Indian equity indices experienced a notable resurgence on Monday, with the market trading in the green during mid-session. This positive shift was primarily fueled by strong buying activity in heavyweight stocks such as ICICI Bank, M&M, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, and Wipro, following a five-day losing streak.
As of 1:02 p.m., the Sensex surged by 872 points, or 1.10%, reaching 80,242, while the Nifty gained 224 points, or 0.93%, at 24,405. The banking sector led the rally, with the Nifty Bank index rising by 606 points, or 1.22%, to settle at 51,405.
The Nifty midcap 100 index also showed positive momentum, climbing 503 points, or 0.91%, to 55,777, and the Nifty smallcap 100 index increased by 228 points, or 1.28%, to 18,075.
All sectors were in the green, with significant gains observed in auto, PSU Bank, financial services, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, metals, real estate, energy, and commodities.
Among the key gainers in the Sensex were ICICI Bank, M&M, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, Wipro, Nestle, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, HUL, Asian Paints, SBI, TCS, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, and Power Grid. Conversely, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, and HDFC Bank faced losses.
Market experts highlighted that the ongoing trend of “flight to quality” is likely to persist, bolstered by strong performance reports from banking majors like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, where valuations remain attractive. They noted, “Investors can benefit from these polarised valuations.”
The global market environment may also turn favorable, as subdued Israeli strikes against Iran have led to a significant drop in crude prices. However, uncertainty surrounding the imminent U.S. presidential elections is expected to weigh on market sentiment.
On the foreign investment front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,036 crore on October 25, while domestic institutional investors made net purchases of Rs 4,159 crore on the same day, indicating a mixed investment landscape.
