Markets extend rally as bulls regain footing

Mumbai, July 28

Extending gains for the second straight session, equity benchmark Sensex jumped by nearly 2% to soar past the 56,000-mark on Thursday, propelled by robust buying in finance, banking and IT stocks.

Value-buying persisted in blue chips as well as select mid and small-cap counters after their recent spell of weakness, traders said. A strong recovery in the rupee further boosted domestic equities despite the US Federal Reserve hiking rates to tame inflation, they added.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised key interest rates by 75 basis points for the second straight month.

The BSE benchmark jumped 1,041.47 points to settle at 56,857.79. During the day, it rallied 1,097.9 points to 56,914.22. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 287.80 points to 16,929.60.

The Nifty rose sharply after the US Fed’s comments hinting at a possibility of a slower pace of monetary tightening, Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

“…Stocks rose on Thursday as the prospect of a slower pace of Federal Reserve monetary tightening filtered across global markets. European shares came off session highs on Thursday, as a slew of downbeat earnings took the shine off a global rally driven by easing worries about the future pace of US interest rate hikes,” he added.

Among the Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance rallied the most by 10.68%, followed by Bajaj Finserv that jumped 10.14% after encouraging June quarter earnings.

The other gainers were Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Nestle.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Dr Reddy’s, ITC and Sun Pharma were the laggards. — PTI

SENSEX SURGES 1,041.47 POINTS

INDICES HIT 3-MONTH HIGH CLOSES AT 56,857.79

• The NSE Nifty advanced 287.80 points to close at 16,929.60
• Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel and Kotak Bank were major gainers