Stock market today: Indian stock markets ended a five-day losing streak on Monday as upbeat quarterly results from ICICI Bank and other lenders powered gains in banking stocks, despite ongoing foreign selling and lackluster corporate earnings.
The BSE Sensex climbed 0.76 per cent or 602.75 points to close at 80,005.04, while the Nifty50 rose 0.65 per cent or 158.35 points to settle at 24,339.15.
Key factors for major gains
1. Strong banking sector performance
Among the 30 Sensex stocks, ICICI Bank led the gains, climbing 3 per cent following its report of a 14.5 per cent increase in standalone profit to Rs 11,746 crore for the second quarter ending September 2024.
While other major gainers included JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, and State Bank of India.
On the downside, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, and Maruti were among the lossers.
All sectoral indices on the Nifty were trading in positive territory, with the Nifty PSU bank index leading the pack, up 3.8 per cent.
The Nifty witnessed a correction of approximately 8.3 per cent from its recent peak, while the mid and small cap indices experienced corrections of 9-10 per cent, respectively.
The Indian rupee remained stable at 84.0775 against the US dollar, as expectations that the central bank would maintain its stance on the currency offset pressure from a strong dollar.
2. Positive earnings reports fuel market optimism
The Indian stock market experienced a positive shift in sentiment, largely attributed to the sharp correction in global crude prices on international markets, according to traders.
Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, Vinod Nair said: “The market exhibited a rebound after continuous selloff last week. Positive results from banks and a slump in oil prices in expectation of an ease in retaliations in the Middle East aided investor sentiment.”
“Stability in the broad-based rally requires more evidence from earnings, which are currently in the doldrums of weak demand and margin pressure. We expect companies with a less leveraged balance sheet and growth prospects to outperform when the market stabilizes,” Nair added.
The market opened on a positive note, with the Sensex crossing the 80,000 mark and Nifty50 moving above 24,400.
During the intra-day trading session at 12.22 pm, the Sensex had surged to 80,433.23, up 1,030 points or 1.30 per cent, while Nifty50 reached 24,465.05, up 284.25 points or 1.18 per cent.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,036.75 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased shares amounting to Rs 4,159.29 crore.
3. Global market stability supports rebound
Earlier in the day, the US stock index futures experienced a significant surge potentially recovering some of the losses from the previous week’s turbulent trading session. Investors are gearing up for crucial corporate earnings reports and the final stage leading up to the presidential election on November 5.
“The imminent US presidential elections and the uncertainty associated with that will continue to weigh on markets,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Dow E-minis surged 203 points or 0.48per cent, while US S&P 500 E-minis climbed 35 points or 0.60per cent, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis advanced 160.5 points or 0.78per cent.
In Asia, the markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong closed higher. Meanwhile, European markets were trading in positive territory.
The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, saw a significant decline of 5.84 percent, settling at $71.54 per barrel.
In premarket trading, major tech giants showed strong gains ahead of their upcoming earnings reports later this week.
Alphabet’s stock price increased by 1.6per cent, Meta Platforms rose 1.3per cent, Microsoft was up 1per cent, Apple gained 0.7per cent, and Amazon.com added 0.9per cent.
Nvidia, a prominent player in the AI-chip market, experienced a 1.3per cent increase in its stock price.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note reached a three-month high of 4.292per cent on Monday.
