Stock markets surge over 2% to hit lifetime highs; Sensex nears 69,000 mark, Nifty breaches 20,500

The logo of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building is seen in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty soared more than 2% to settle at record high levels on Monday, marking the fifth straight day of gains as the BJP’s victory in three States in Assembly polls boosted investor sentiment.

Analysts said BJP’s clear majority in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh State elections strengthened the positive sentiment built up last week following robust macroeconomic numbers and unabated foreign fund inflows.

Besides, crude oil prices hovering below $80 per barrel fuelled investors sentiment, they said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,383.93 points, or 2.05%, to close at a lifetime high of 68,865.12. The index touched an intra-day record peak of 68,918.22. The barometer logged its biggest single-day jump since May 20, 2022.

The broader Nifty also climbed 418.90 points, or 2.07%, to hit its all-time closing high of 20,686.80. On the 50-stock benchmark Nifty, 44 closed with gains.

Among the Sensex firms, ICICI Bank and SBI led the index with the maximum gains of 4.68% and 3.99%, respectively. Other major gainers were Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, Wipro and Tata Motors defied the trend and traded in negative.

“The benchmark index hits its all-time high following the landslide victory of BJP in elections in three states. It spurred a rally with an anticipation that the country will witness a stable government post the general elections next year,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

“All the sectors have broadly participated in the rally with an optimism that the FIIs will continue its value buying, indicating positive commentary on the global inflation data and stable domestic marcoeconomics,” Mr. Nair said.

Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth ₹1,589.61 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Hang Seng fell 1.10% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was off 0.70% and China’s Shanghai Composite finished 0.29% lower.

European markets were mixed with Germany’s DAX trading higher by 1.10% and France’ CAC 40 gaining 0.05%. London’s FTSE 100 declined 0.67%. The U.S. markets ended mixed with S&P 500 registering a gain of 0.59% on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.65% to $78.37 a barrel.

Domestic equity markets are expected to take cues from global trends, trading activity of foreign investors, and RBI’s interest rate decision to be announced later this week.

Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,511.15 points or 2.29%, while the Nifty climbed 473.2 points or 2.39%.

The market capitalisation of listed companies on the NSE has surpassed the $4 trillion (₹334.72 trillion) mark for the first time ever on Friday. The combined market valuation of all listed companies on the BSE reached the $4 trillion-milestone for the first time ever on Wednesday (November 29).