 "The bull run on Dalal Street pushed benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty higher by over 1 per cent. AI-generated image via DALL-E.")
The momentum of the bull run on Dalal Street that had begun last week continued on Monday (March 24).
Benchmark indices of the Indian share market rose over 1 per cent each, amid fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in banking and oil and gas shares.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1078.87 points or 1.4 per cent to end the day just below the 78,000 mark (at 77,984.38 points).
The broader Nifty 50 index rose 307.95 points or 1.32 per cent at 23,658.35 points.
“The markets kicked off the week on a strong note, gaining nearly 1.5 per cent as the ongoing recovery trend continued […] All major sectors participated in the rally, with banking, financials, realty, and energy emerging as top gainers. The broader indices mirrored this momentum, each advancing over 1 per cent,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President, Research, Religare Broking.
Top gainers and losers
In both the indices, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Tech Mahindra, and PowerGrid Corporation of India were the top gainers.
In the Sensex pack, Titan, IndusInd Bank, Zomato, Mahindra and Mahindra, an Bharti Airtel were the top laggards.
In the Nifty pack, the top losers were IndusInd Bank, Titan, Trent, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Bharti Airtel.
What is making the bulls run?
The recent market strength can be largely attributed to renewed activity by foreign institutional investors (FII) in India. They have been buying in the cash market and their short-covering in the derivatives segment has also given the financial markets a boost, according to Mishra.
FIIs bought equities worth Rs 7,470.36 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said that the “increased government spending and expected monetary easing are anticipated to boost optimism in rate-sensitive sectors such as banking, NBFCs [non-banking finance companies], auto, consumer durables, and real estate, leading to potential outperformance.”
With inputs from agencies