NEW DELHI: Goddess Laksmi this Diwali turned extra generous and showered wealth on equity investors, who got richer by Rs 94,381.68 crore in just one hour, which worked out to Rs 26.21 crore a second.
The benchmark equity indices closed at fresh record highs, extending the gains to the second day and rising for 10 sessions in the last 11. Positive global cues and improving business sentiments were major factors driving the market. Festive spirit also helped the cause.
The 30-share Sensex pack added 194.98 points, or 0.45 per cent, to end the special session at 43,637. It closed almost 200 points down from the day’s high, as investors booked profit. NSE’s Nifty advanced 50.65 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 12,770.
“As India is a domestically oriented economy, we expect the coming year to be favourable for pro-cyclical sectors such as banks and consumer durables and for companies tied to a robust pickup in construction activity – cement, real estate, metals and road builders. With inflationary pressures largely contained, we expect rupee to have a strengthening bias and act as a headwind against export oriented sectors like IT services,’’ said S Hariharan of Emkay Global Financial Services.
BPCL investors were among the happiest lot, as the stock climbed 5.19 per cent to Rs 414.45, emerging as the biggest gainer among Nifty constituents. Indian Oil, Tata Motors, HDFC Life Insurance, Sun Pharma and Coal India were other major gainers, rising 1-3 per cent.
On the other hand, Hindalco was the biggest loser in the pack, falling 1.21 per cent to Rs 208. Hero MotoCorp, JSW Steel, SBI, Bajaj Finance and Shree Cement were other top losers, down up to 1 per cent.
Volatility indicator, India VIX, came down further, signalling a drop in nervousness among traders. The index settled 2.8 per cent down at 19.15.
Broader market induces also logged solid gain, outperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap Index added 0.67 per cent and Nifty Midcap 0.38 per cent. Nifty500, the broadest index on NSE, advanced 0.38 per cent.
Vodafone Idea was the biggest midcap gainer after reports said its parent may raise $ 5 billion. Aditya Birla Capital, Oberoi Realty, Kalpataru Power, Century Ply and Indiabulls Real Estate were other gainers from the broader market, rising 3-10 per cent.
Shriram Transport Finance, GMR Infra, REC, Dixon Technologies, Karur Vysya Bank and Aster DM Healthcare were among the top midcap and smallcap losers, slipping up to 3 per cent.
All sectoral indices ended with gains. Nifty IT Index was the biggest gainer, up 0.53 per cent, followed closely by Nifty Realty Index that gained 0.52 per cent. Others also logged some gains.
After a multi-month rally, stock valuations are stretched but that is not deterring Dalal Street veterans from projecting benchmark indices to keep climbing to new highs.
Earlier this week, analysts from a dozen brokerages that took part in the ETMarkets’ pre-Diwali survey projected Sensex to rise up to 47,000 level and Nifty50 to 14,000 by next Diwali.
