IT & banking titans fuel 677-point Sensex rally in last leg of volatile session

US-rate sensitive IT stocks rose 1.7%. All 10 constituents of the index advanced, adding between 1% and 4.2%. , , were the top gainers from the index. Indian derive a significant portion of their revenue from the United States.

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra closed 3% higher and remained top gainer after the company reported a net profit of Rs 2,038 crore in the March quarter. This is an increase of 32% year-on-year (YoY) from Rs 1,549 crore reported in the last year quarter.

Following M&M Q4 robust results, Auto index closed 0.56% higher despite losses in Maruti and Tata Motors stock. Metal stocks rose 0.3% helped by a weaker dollar. A weaker dollar makes metals cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Among individual stocks, Apollo Tyres closed over 3% higher after global brokerages JP Morgan and Nomura upgraded the stock's target price following its Q4 results.

Titagarh Rail Systems shares ended 9% higher after the company reported a net profit of Rs 78.95 crore for Q4FY24, an increase of 63.7% YoY.

Meanwhile, the market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE surged by Rs 3.1 lakh crore to Rs 407.35 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in favour of the bulls. About 2,127 stocks gained, 1,704 declined, and 121 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Expert Views

"The domestic market experienced a late surge, driven by strong global trends that pointed to lower-than-expected US consumer inflation figures, which suggests at least two interest rate cuts in 2024. Further, buoyancy in the broader market continues with exports increasing despite global economic uncertainties, leading the heavyweights’ sectors such as banking, IT, and industrials to outperform," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said, "Finally, the index has moved back up into the rising channel after a few days of failed attempts. Over the next few days, the bulls might have the upper hand in the market as the index moved above the critical moving average after several days. On the higher side, the Nifty might move towards 22,600 in the short term. Support on the lower end remains at 22,250; the sentiment is expected to remain strong as long as it holds above this level."

Global Markets

World stocks hit a record high and bond markets rallied on Thursday as hopes of interest rate cuts in the United States and other major economies extended a powerful month-long global bull run.

MSCI's benchmark world stocks index, which tracks 47 countries, was up for a sixth straight day and the STOXX 600 was trying to take Europe's winning streak to 10 days, which would be the longest since August 2021.

Oil Prices Decline

Brent oil futures held steady on Thursday, bolstered by signs of stronger demand in the US after slower-than-expected inflation in April and lower oil stocks in the past week.

Brent crude futures fell 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.50 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) shed 26 cents, or 0.33%, to $78.37.

Rupee Ends Flat

The Indian rupee closed flat on Thursday as dollar demand from local oil companies and likely equity-related outflows weighed on the local unit even as most other Asian currencies rallied.

The rupee ended at 83.50 against the US dollar, unchanged from its closing level in the previous session.

(With inputs from agencies)