Indian equities close higher for seventh straight session as Sensex gains 1,718 points
The Sensex ended at about 81,028 and the Nifty at 25,030, driven by gains in private banks, while mid-cap and small-cap indices slipped.
Indian equities extended their rally for a seventh consecutive session, with the Sensex finishing around 81,028, up 1,718 points, and the Nifty closing at 25,030, up 494 points. Private sector banks led the gains, highlighted by strong performances from HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, while public-sector banks lagged.
Among the top Nifty gainers were ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Titan Company and Axis Bank. Decliners included Eicher Motors, Power Grid Corp, Bharat Electronics, Adani Enterprises and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles. Sectoral moves saw consumer durables, Nifty Bank, pharma and private banks rise between 1% and 3%, whereas energy, media and realty fell about 1% each.
The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices slipped, ending marginally lower and down 0.8% respectively, ending a four-day winning streak for those segments. About 1,681 stocks advanced while 2,400 fell and 148 were unchanged.
The rupee weakened to 94.50 per dollar before recovering later in the session. Foreign inflows reached INR 14,975 crore on the day, contributing to a five-day total of INR 35,809 crore, but the Reserve Bank of India conducted a reverse-repo auction of INR 25,000 crore, indicating it was absorbing excess liquidity to rebuild reserves.
Analysts noted that a sharp decline in crude oil prices, easing U.S. Treasury yields and a firmer rupee have bolstered India’s relative attractiveness amid a broader global market sell-off. The market’s focus now turns to upcoming earnings reports, crude price movements and U.S. economic data, including the jobs report due later today.