Market Ends Higher: Sensex Up 1.24%, Nifty Gains 237 Points

Mumbai, October 29: The Indian share market ended Thursday's session on a positive note, with gains spread across large, mid and small-cap segments.

The Sensex closed 905.01 points higher, a rise of 1.24 per cent, at 74,151.04. The Nifty ended 237.90 points up, or 1.05 per cent, at 22,936.75.

Broader market performance

The Nifty Midcap 100 index advanced 566.95 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 57,841.65. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 176.45 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 18,811.35.

Across sectors, the Nifty Realty index recorded the strongest gain at 2.75 per cent. The Nifty FMCG index followed with a 2.34 per cent rise, and the Nifty PSU Bank index gained 2.20 per cent. The Nifty Services index rose 1.61 per cent and the Nifty Private Bank index added 1.24 per cent.

Nifty Infra and Nifty Consumer Durables each gained 1.18 per cent, while Nifty Financial Services rose 1.17 per cent and Nifty PSE increased 1.15 per cent.

The Nifty Auto index was the only major index that closed lower, falling 0.24 per cent.

Stock-level action

On the Sensex, Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid, Eternal, Bajaj Finance, HUL, SBI, Titan, NTPC, BEL, Infosys, ITC, Bharti Airtel, M&M, L&T, TCS, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech and Bajaj Finserv emerged as gainers. Trent, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra and HDFC Bank were the losers.

Reasons behind the rally

Analysts pointed to the US Federal Reserve's decision to halt rate hikes, a slight dip in crude oil prices and a resumption of buying by institutional investors as key factors. Robust consumer demand gave FMCG stocks the biggest boost, and financial, IT, realty and power sectors also strengthened.

The gains in mid-cap and small-cap stocks suggested that the improvement extended beyond the largest companies.

Liquidity and outlook

Analysts said recent buying by foreign investors and steady support from domestic institutional investors had improved liquidity. Resilient corporate earnings and stable domestic demand were positive signals, although rising input costs may pressure company margins.

However, elevated Brent crude prices, rupee weakness, rising domestic bond yields and geopolitical uncertainty remain major risks to the market outlook.