Benchmarks build on gains amid F&O expiry; Nifty relcaims 15000-mark, Sensex surges past 51,000

Mumbai: The Sensex surged past 51,000 points while the Nifty reclaimed the 15,000-mark on Thursday as indices darted up for the third straight session amid the expiry of monthly derivative contracts and bullish global equities. A whopping increase in FPI inflows also boosted risk appetite, traders said. Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth a net Rs 28,739.17 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Global markets followed Wall Street higher after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policy rates could remain low for years, calming inflation concerns. The 30-share BSE Sensex spurted 257.62 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 51,039.31. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 115.35 points or 0.77 percent to 15,097.35. ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 4.66 percent, followed by NTPC, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and PowerGrid. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries advanced 3.84 percent, accounting for the lion’s share of the benchmark’s gains. Axis Bank jumped 2.94 percent after regulator IRDAI approved the lender’s stake buy in Max Life Insurance. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Nestle India, L&T, Kotak Bank, Titan, and HDFC were among the major laggards, slipping up to 2.10 percent. On the domestic macroeconomic front, Moody’s raised its growth projections for India, saying the economy is expected to clock a growth of 13.7 percent in FY'22 on the back of the normalisation of activity and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. “Domestic market added strength on Wednesday’s rally supported by positive F&O monthly roll-over and robust global market. Small and mid-cap stocks continued its outperformance over the benchmark indices. “World equity market rebound after getting assurance from Central banks, importantly Fed, that good liquidity will be maintained, in spite of being under pressure of rising inflation, since the economy is still well below the pre-COVID standpoint,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. BSE energy, oil, and gas, metal, utilities, basic materials, power, and realty indices rallied up to 3.92 percent, while FMCG and capital goods indices closed lower. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices surged up to 1.42 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo ended with significant gains. Stock exchanges in Europe were largely trading on a positive note in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.50 percent higher at $66.51 per barrel. The Indian rupee ended 8 paise lower at 72.43 against the US dollar, weighed down by the spike in global crude oil prices.