In a significant turnaround in market sentiment, benchmark indices continued their winning streak for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday. Better still, they gained 4.5% during this holiday-shortened week – the highest in four years.
The Sensex jumped 1,508.91 points or 1.96% to close at 78,553.20, marking its highest closing level since January 3, while the Nifty rose 414.45 points or 1.77% to close above the 23,800 mark at 23,851.65. Banking shares were in strong demand on Thursday, with the BSE sensex hitting a new all-time closing high of 62,293.27, rising by 1,557.21 points or 2.56%.
With Thursday’s rally, both indices logged their best weekly gain in four years since the week ending February 5, 2021. The Sensex and Nifty rose 4.52% and 4.48% respectively, snapping a two-week losing streak.
In the past four sessions alone, the Sensex and Nifty have gained 6.37% and 6.48% respectively. Investors’ wealth increased by ₹4.6 lakh crore on Thursday, and by ₹17.92 lakh crore during the week. In total, the BSE market capitalisation surged by ₹25.77 lakh crore over the four sessions.
“The domestic macroeconomic environment remains supportive, encouraging investors to increase their exposure to riskier assets for the long term,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. “Additionally, the inflation outlook appears favourable, reinforced by forecasts of an above-normal monsoon and a decline in oil prices,” he added.
The broader indices underperformed the benchmarks on Thursday, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices gaining 0.56% and 0.52% respectively. However, during the week, they rose 4.24% and 4.69%, and posted impressive gains of 6.15% and 7.88% over the past four sessions.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued their buying streak for the third consecutive session, purchasing shares worth ₹4,667.94 crore on Thursday and ₹15,492 crore over the past three sessions. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers, offloading shares worth ₹2,006.15 crore on Thursday and ₹6,470 crore over the past three sessions.
Market breadth remained positive with 2,427 gainers versus 1,522 losers on the BSE. All sectoral indices on both the BSE and NSE ended in the green. On Thursday, banking, telecom, financial services, services, and TECK were the top sectoral gainers, rising up to 2.56%.
Over the week, realty, banking, financial services, and telecom stood out, posting gains of up to 7.08%.
Top Sensex gainers on Thursday included Zomato (Eternal), ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, and SBI, with gains of up to 4.37%.
During the week, all 30 Sensex stocks closed in the green. In the Nifty 50, Wipro was the only loser. IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, and ICICI Bank were the top weekly gainers, rising up to 15.34%.
BSE Bankex at all-time high
Investor sentiment towards banking stocks was buoyed by the normal monsoon forecast and easing retail inflation, which boosted hopes for improved economic and credit conditions.
In Thursday’s session, banking shares were in strong demand, with the BSE Bankex hitting a new all-time closing high of 62,293.27, rising by 1,557.21 points or 2.56%.
The Bank Nifty ended the day just 85.15 points shy of its all-time closing high of 54,375.35, recorded on September 26. It closed at 54,290.20, gaining 1,172.45 points or 2.21%.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Private Bank index rose 2.23%, while the Nifty PSU Bank index gained 1.64%.
Top performers in the Bank Nifty included ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank, with gains of up to 3.73%.