Sensex Hits Nine-Month High, Here's What Really Fuelled Dalal Street’s 773-Point Rally?

Mumbai: Indian equity markets extended their winning streak on Wednesday, with the Sensex and Nifty reaching nine-month highs as strong buying in banking, financial and select heavyweight stocks lifted investor sentiment. However, the benchmarks surrendered part of their intraday gains before closing firmly higher.

The BSE Sensex surged 772.75 points, or 0.95 percent, to settle at 81,879.40, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 210.40 points, or 0.84 percent, to finish at 25,255.05.

The Sensex touched an intraday high of 82,520.40, while the Nifty climbed to 25,424.35 before profit-booking trimmed gains.

Banking Stocks Lead

Financial shares emerged as the biggest drivers of Wednesday's rally, supported by foreign institutional investor buying.

The Nifty Bank jumped 1,051 points to 60,792, approaching its record high. State Bank of India and Axis Bank were among the major contributors to the Nifty's advance.

Broader Markets Participate

The rally extended beyond heavyweight stocks, with the Nifty Midcap index gaining 497 points to 61,519.

Market breadth remained positive, with advancing stocks outnumbering declining shares by approximately 2:1.

More than 35 Nifty constituents finished higher, reflecting widespread buying interest across sectors.

Heavyweights Lift Indices

Mahindra & Mahindra, IndiGo and Trent featured among the leading Nifty gainers.

Meanwhile, M&M, SBI, Axis Bank, ITC and Reliance Industries contributed significantly to the benchmark's rise.

The gains highlighted continued investor interest in automobile, banking and consumption-related stocks.

Insurance Shares Advance

Capital market stocks maintained their upward momentum, with BSE shares gaining another 2 percent.

Insurance companies also attracted buying ahead of monthly business updates, with HDFC Life leading the sector's gains.

Corporate Updates Trigger Action

Stock-specific developments provided additional momentum.

Kalyan Jewellers surged over 8 percent following strong second-quarter results, while Navin Fluorine advanced 6 percent after securing approval for a key molecule.

Coromandel International gained 6 percent following the Cabinet's decision to increase phosphatic and potassic fertiliser subsidies.

However, Cochin Shipyard declined 7 percent after its quarterly earnings missed market expectations.

Despite late-session profit-booking, sustained institutional interest and broad-based participation helped benchmarks retain substantial gains.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies has increased by approximately Rs 35 lakh crore during November's first seven trading sessions, reflecting the strength of the recent recovery.