Sensex surges over 500 points led by Banking, Financial stocks
Equity benchmarks extended their morning gains in Monday’s afternoon trade, with the Sensex rising 547.84 points to 77,167.17 and the Nifty climbing 139.65 points to 23,342.85, driven by strong performance in banking and financial services sectors.
The market breadth remained positive with 2,350 stocks advancing and 1,556 declining on the BSE, while 189 remained unchanged. The trading session saw 106 stocks hitting their 52-week highs, compared to 68 stocks touching their 52-week lows. Additionally, 310 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, while 232 stocks reached their lower circuit limits.
Banking stocks led the rally with the Nifty Bank index surging 885.35 points or 1.82 per cent to 49,425.95, while the Nifty Financial Services index gained 341.05 points or 1.51 per cent to reach 22,949.25. The broader market indices showed moderate gains, with the Nifty Next 50 rising 0.49 per cent and the Nifty Midcap Select adding 0.33 per cent.
Kotak Mahindra Bank emerged as the top gainer on the NSE, soaring 9.41 per cent following its strong third-quarter results. Other major gainers included Wipro, which advanced 6.08 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance gaining 3.62 per cent, NTPC rising 2.93 per cent, and Bajaj Finserv adding 2.45 per cent.
On the downside, SBI Life led the losses with a decline of 3.06 per cent, followed by Trent dropping 1.80 per cent. Shriram Finance fell 1.40 per cent, while HDFC Life and TCS declined by 1.27 per cent and 0.98 per cent respectively.
The market showed resilience despite continued selling pressure from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in January, which was counterbalanced by sustained buying from Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs). The trading session witnessed participation across 4,095 stocks on the BSE.
As the markets approached the midday mark, the indices maintained their upward momentum, building upon the positive start seen in early morning trade. The Nifty continued to trade near its resistance levels of 23,430-23,340, as identified by market analysts, with key support levels at 23,060-23,000.
