Sensex Gains 238 Points, Nifty Reclaims 23,950 Mark As Policy Support & Broad-Based Buying Lift Markets

Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Thursday, snapping a two-day losing streak as buying across broader markets and gains in select heavyweight stocks lifted investor sentiment.

The BSE Sensex rose 238 points to close at 76,742, while the NSE Nifty gained 81 points to settle at 23,963. Although both indices came off their intraday highs, they managed to end the session in positive territory.

The Nifty Bank index advanced 510 points to 57,252, while the Midcap index outperformed with a sharp gain of 844 points to close at 62,167. Market breadth remained healthy, with advancing shares outnumbering declining stocks by nearly three to one on the NSE.

Midcaps Shine

Broader markets delivered a stronger performance than the benchmark indices as investors bought shares across several sectors.

The sharp rise in the Midcap index reflected wider participation in the rally rather than gains being limited to a few large-cap companies. Strong market breadth also indicated improved investor confidence during the session.

Policy Boost

Government policy announcements provided support to several manufacturing companies.

Exide Industries and Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies gained up to 4 percent after the Centre exempted customs duty on inputs used in lithium-ion cell manufacturing.

Similarly, Dixon Technologies and Amber Enterprises climbed up to 4 percent after customs duty exemptions were announced on inputs used for display assembly manufacturing. Investors viewed these measures as positive for domestic manufacturing under the Make in India initiative.

Stock Action

Sector-specific movements also influenced the market.

Downstream oil companies gained after Brent crude prices slipped below USD 78 per barrel, while upstream oil companies ended lower.

Kalyan Jewellers extended its rally from the previous session and surged more than 17 percent. Insolation Energy jumped 12 percent after securing a Rs 558 crore order from NTPC Renewable Energy. Premier Explosives and Bharti Hexacom also featured among the leading midcap gainers.

Major Movers

Among Sensex stocks, Sun Pharmaceutical, Bharti Airtel, Eternal, InterGlobe Aviation, Bajaj Finserv and Grasim Industries were the biggest gainers.

On the other hand, Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell 6 percent after delaying commercial production of semaglutide because of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) issue.

Infosys declined 2 percent, while TCS also ended lower ahead of its first-quarter earnings. NTPC, ONGC, Hindalco Industries and Eicher Motors were among the other major losers.