Sensex surges over 1,000 points, Nifty tops 25,300 as FII inflows, strong Q2 earnings fuel rally

New Delhi: Indian equity benchmarks rallied sharply in early trade on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex surging more than 1,000 points and the NSE Nifty crossing the 25,300 mark, supported by sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) buying, better-than-expected corporate earnings and easing global crude oil prices.

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The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,097.33 points to 82,186.92, while the broader NSE Nifty 50 advanced 274.30 points to 25,317.55 in early deals.

Among Sensex constituents, InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, HDFC Bank, Power Grid and Bharti Airtel led the gains. Titan was the sole laggard among the 30 index stocks.

The rally followed strong foreign portfolio inflows, with FIIs purchasing equities worth Rs 7,212.22 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors have reportedly invested Rs 53,170 crore in Indian equities so far this month, marking a sharp reversal from the selling pressure witnessed in October.

Strong earnings underpin market rally

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, attributed the market's sharp recovery to aggressive foreign buying and stronger-than-anticipated September-quarter earnings.

"The Nifty-50 has surged by 8.6 per cent in just seven trading days of this month. This surge was triggered mainly by the aggressive FII buying of Rs 53,170 crore, so far, this month. The dramatic change in the market environment was triggered by positive global clues for India from the weakening of the AI trade. But it is important to note that the real fundamental support to the rally has come from the better-than-expected Q2 results," Vijayakumar said.

He expects continued foreign buying to support frontline stocks, particularly in banking, financial services, telecom, capital goods, automobiles and pharmaceuticals.

Lower crude prices offer macroeconomic relief

Brent crude traded around USD 92.44 per barrel, providing relief to India, which depends heavily on imported oil.

Lower crude prices could help ease imported inflation, reduce pressure on the current account and improve the earnings outlook for oil-sensitive industries.

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said declining oil prices and renewed foreign institutional participation had strengthened the domestic market outlook.

He noted that WTI crude was trading near USD 86 per barrel, while Brent had eased into the USD 91–92 range.

Asian markets trade mixed

Asian markets displayed mixed trends, with Japan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's Kospi advancing, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's Shanghai Composite traded lower.

US equity markets ended Tuesday's session in negative territory. Indian stock exchanges were closed on Tuesday for Diwali Balipratipada.

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On Monday, the Sensex had gained 107.25 points to close at 81,106.65, while the Nifty settled 58.25 points higher at 25,044.65.

Latest market update

The rally strengthened further after the opening. At approximately 9:48 am, the Sensex was trading at 82,467.26, up 1,360.61 points (1.68 percent), while the Nifty advanced 357.45 points (1.43 percent) to 25,402.10. Both benchmarks reached their highest levels in around eight months.

These later figures can replace the opening numbers in the lead for a more current version of the report.

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