Dalal Street Rallies Before Diwali on Strong Q2 Results, Auto Sales

Dalal Street opened the week on a strong note, with key benchmark indices ending sharply higher on Monday as optimism built up ahead of Diwali.

The Sensex closed at 75,692.78, up 1,233.25 points or 1.66 percent, while the Nifty settled at 23,440.80, gaining 387.70 points or 1.68 percent.

Energy and commodity stocks were the main drivers of the advance. The Nifty Oil and Gas index recorded the biggest gain at 5.95 percent, followed by the Nifty Commodities index at 4.01 percent and the Nifty Energy index at 3.92 percent. Infrastructure, metal, consumer durables, PSE, manufacturing and defence stocks also posted gains, with the Nifty Infra index up 3.70 percent, the Nifty Metal index up 3.21 percent and the Nifty India Defence index up 1.40 percent.

Some sectors lagged behind. The Nifty Media index fell 0.76 percent, the Nifty IT index dropped 0.50 percent, the Nifty Private Bank index eased 0.14 percent and the Nifty Pharma index slipped 0.07 percent.

The mid-cap and small-cap segments moved higher as well. The Nifty Midcap 100 index added 682.15 points, or 1.19 percent, to end at 57,983.40. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 131.70 points, or 0.71 percent.

On the Sensex, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, SBI, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, L&T, BEL, HUL, Asian Paints and several other large companies closed in positive territory. Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra and TCS were the notable decliners.

Analysts said second-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations had set a positive tone for the market. Passenger vehicle sales growth in October highlighted healthy festive demand, and a rise in gross GST collections confirmed the strength of domestic consumption and economic activity.

External conditions also helped sentiment. Softer crude oil prices and renewed diplomatic talks between the US and Iran eased concerns about energy costs and geopolitical risks. Foreign investors resumed buying as global trends in artificial intelligence shifted, providing additional support to Indian equities. Market watchers noted that the strength in mid-cap and small-cap indices indicates rising participation across the market.