Indian equity benchmarks staged a strong rally on Thursday, ending at the day’s highs with gains of around 1% each. The Sensex climbed 905 points, while the Nifty reclaimed the 22,900 mark as FMCG, public sector banks and real estate stocks led the advance.
The Sensex rose 905 points, or 1.24%, to close at 74,151, while the Nifty gained 238 points, or 1.05%, to settle at 22,937. The Nifty Bank index advanced 642 points to 54,910, while the Nifty Midcap index rose 567 points to 57,842.
FMCG, PSU banks and realty lead sectoral gains
FMCG, PSU banks and real estate stocks were among the top-performing sectoral indices in the session. Real estate shares recovered sharply in the final hour of trade, with DLF ending over 4% higher.
Ambuja Cements and Asian Paints closed nearly 1% higher, tracking their September-quarter results. Birlasoft surged 12%, posting its biggest single-day gain in more than five years, after its Q2 results.V-Guard Industries jumped nearly 8% following its quarterly earnings.
Laurus Labs gained over 3% after reporting better-than-expected Q2 results, while Jio Platforms recovered from intraday weakness to finish with modest gains. Its market capitalisation crossed ₹13.5 lakh crore during the session.
Equitas SFB, Hero MotoCorp among laggards
Equitas Small Finance Bank shares 20%, hitting the lower circuit after managing director and chief executive officer P N Vasudevan announced his resignation. The bank’s strong quarterly profit growth was overshadowed by concerns surrounding the leadership transition.
Also read: Stock crash explained: Why Equitas SFB shares plunged 25% from the day’s highs
Hero MotoCorp declined over 4% as investors reacted to commentary during its earnings call. Hexaware Technologies fell 6% after narrowing its EBITDA margin guidance, while RR Kabel dropped nearly 4% following a cut in its volume growth guidance.
Despite the weakness in select stocks, the broader market finished firmly in the green, with the frontline indices closing at their respective session highs.