Post-Market Report: Sensex Jumps 473 Points, Nifty Reclaims 22,550 on Easing Fed Rate Worries and Softening Crude

Market Performance Today

Indian benchmark equity indices opened the week on a positive note, staging a sharp technical rebound and breaking a multi-session losing streak. The BSE Sensex rose 472.77 points, or 0.66%, to settle at 72,382.47 after scaling an intraday high of 72,631.93. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 climbed 133.80 points, or 0.60%, to end at 22,555.75, touching an intraday peak above the 22,620 mark.

The upbeat start to the trading week offered immediate respite to investors following prolonged selling pressure over the past few weeks that had pushed benchmark indices into an oversold territory.

Top Movers (Sectors and Stocks)

Buying interest was widespread across financial services, consumer goods, and public sector lenders, while healthcare and select IT stocks remained subdued.

• Top Gaining Sectors: Nifty PSU Bank led the pack, advancing over 1% on the back of robust quarterly business updates. Other major sectoral gainers included Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Oil & Gas, all recording gains between 0.5% and 1.8%.
• Top Lagging Sectors: Nifty Healthcare and Nifty Pharma faced selling pressure and ended marginally in the red, while Nifty IT concluded the day largely flat.
• Top Performing Stocks: Bajaj Finance gained over 2.3% following an 11% year-on-year jump in new quarterly loan bookings. Other major gainers among large caps included ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, and State Bank of India. In the banking basket, Punjab National Bank jumped 2.5% and Bank of Baroda rose nearly 1% following solid credit growth data.
• Top Lagging Stocks: HCLTech, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Infosys, and Apollo Hospitals were among the notable laggards dragging on benchmark indices.

Key Drivers of Today's Market

Several global and domestic catalysts supported Dalal Street's upward momentum on Monday:

• Easing U.S. Fed Rate Tightening Concerns: Softer-than-expected U.S. non-farm payroll data (showing September job additions of 29,000 versus the 90,000 forecast) tempered market fears of near-term aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve, thereby revitalizing global risk appetite.
• Retreat in Crude Oil Prices: International crude oil benchmarks retreated from recent spikes, with Brent crude easing toward lower levels, alleviating immediate worries regarding domestic imported inflation and the current account deficit.
• Strong Q2 Business Updates: Leading banking institutions and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) announced healthy double-digit loan growth figures for the September quarter (Q2), boosting investor confidence in the heavyweight financial sector.
• Technical Oversold Rebound: After eight consecutive weeks of declines, technical indicators indicated deeply oversold conditions, paving the way for short covering and bottom fishing at crucial support levels.

Broader Market Performance

Broader market gauges echoed the recovery seen in frontline indices. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.67% (up 391.65 points) to settle at 59,123.65, while the Nifty Smallcap index also traded higher with a gain of approximately 0.5%. Despite the index-level surge, market breadth remained somewhat cautious as 1,991 stocks advanced against 2,297 declines, signaling that investors remain vigilant ahead of upcoming central bank meetings and key macroeconomic data releases.

Tags: Post-Market Stock Market Nifty Sensex Market Analysis