Indian Indices Extend Gains on Upcoming Budget Optimism and Strong FII Inflows
Mumbai: The Indian benchmark indices continued their upward trajectory on Monday, buoyed by optimistic expectations ahead of the Union Budget, robust foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows, and upbeat earnings from the IT sector.
The Sensex closed at 80,664, marking a gain of 146 points, while the Nifty reached 24,586, up by 84 points. The Nifty Bank also saw significant gains, closing at 52,455, up 177 points. During the trading session, the Nifty hit a fresh all-time high, driven by broad-based buying across sectors.
Leading the gains on the Nifty were stocks such as ONGC, SBI Life Insurance, Shriram Finance, SBI, and Bajaj Auto. Conversely, stocks like LTI Mindtree, Asian Paints, Grasim, Tata Steel, and Tata Consumer faced selling pressure and emerged as the top losers.
In terms of broader market indices, the BSE midcap index rose by 1%, while the smallcap index saw a marginal increase of 0.2%.
Market analysts attributed the strong rally in the PSU index to initial positive results from PSU banks. However, they noted a cautious sentiment prevailing as the market approaches Budget Day next week.
Rupak De from LKP Securities commented on the day’s trading, noting that the indices started positively and traded sideways throughout the session. He highlighted a resistance level at 24,650 for the Nifty, suggesting further upside potential if breached.
The market opened on a positive note supported by encouraging quarterly results from the IT sector and renewed FII interest. FIIs turned net buyers on July 11, purchasing equities worth Rs 4,021 crore, while domestic institutional investors continued to sell, offloading equities amounting to Rs 1,651 crore.
Investor sentiment remains cautiously optimistic as stakeholders await further cues from corporate earnings and developments leading up to the Union Budget announcement.
