Bulls Roar on Dalal Street, Sensex, Nifty Close Over 2%

Mumbai: Indian benchmark indices rebounded sharply on Friday, with the BSE Sensex surging 1,961 points, or 2.54 per cent, to close at 79,117, and the Nifty 50 gaining 557 points, or 2.39 per cent, to end at 23,907.25 after taking support from positive global cues, rally in Asian stocks and exit polls predicting a win for the ruling BJP in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

A total of 2,446 stocks advanced, while 1,475 declined and 120 remained unchanged on the BSE. All the 30 Sensex firms ended in the green.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark zoomed 1,536.8 points or 1.98 per cent, and the Nifty climbed 374.55 points or 1.59 per cent.

Technical analysts said the short-term term has reversed and some further recovery is on the cards.

State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, ITC, Infosys, Larsen and Toubro, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers. Buying emerged at lower levels in blue-chip stocks, causing several index heavy-weights, including Reliance to gain significantly.

The majority of the listed Adani group firms ended higher, bouncing back from the previous day's sharp fall after billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud. Ambuja Cements surged 3.50 per cent, ACC jumped 3.17 per cent, Adani Enterprises climbed 2.16 per cent, Adani Ports (2.05 per cent), Adani Total Gas (1.18 per cent) and NDTV (0.65 per cent) on the BSE. The BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.26 per cent, and smallcap index climbed 0.90 per cent.

All sectoral indices ended higher. The BSE Focused IT surged 3.26 per cent, tech (3.18 per cent), IT jumped 3.14 per cent, capital goods (2.36 per cent), energy (2.19 per cent), FMCG (2.18 per cent) and consumer durables (2.17 per cent).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,320.68 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 4,200.16 crore, according to exchange data.

Positive momentum was also observed in global markets due to a modest decline in Japan's October inflation and 39 trillion yen stimulus package. The dollar index climbed to a 13-month high of 107, supported by strong labour market data in the US, while the rupee appreciated marginally to close at 84.45 per dollar. In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled in the positive territory while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said, “The exit polls hinting at BJP winning in both the states seemed to have boosted investors' sentiment in a big way and shrugged off the alleged bribery charges against the Adani group. Also, many of the stocks are now looking relatively attractive, especially after the relentless selloff over past few weeks due to dismal Q2 earnings and unabated FII fund outflows, and hence the reversal of trend.”

Meanwhile, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the country’s market regulator, is making preliminary checks to see if disclosures made by Adani entities were inadequate and if they breached local market regulations. In another development, Ratings agency S&P warned in a statement that the group will need regular access to equity and debt markets given its large growth plans, but it might find fewer takers.