Sharp gains in banking and financial services shares pushed the markets higher
Domestic stock markets recovered early weakness to push higher on Monday, breaking a three-day losing streak, as tracking gains across Asian equities on optimism around a fast recovery from the coronavirus pandemic-induced slowdown. The S&P BSE Sensex index bounced back more than 600 points from 39,334.92, the day's weakest level, to as high as 39,968.03 on the upside. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark moved in a range of more than 150 points, between 11,557.40 and 11,725.65 compared to its previous close of 11,642.40. Sharp gains in banking and financial services shares pushed the markets higher, however losses in energy and IT stocks limited the upside. (Track, Sensex, Nifty)
The Sensex ended 143.51 points - or 0.36 per cent - higher at 39,757.58, and the Nifty settled at 11,669.15, up 26.75 points - or 0.23 per cent - from its previous close.
IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC and Bharti Airtel, ending between 5.03 per cent and 6.45 per cent higher, were the top percentage gainers in the 50-scrip benchmark index.
On the other hand, Reliance Industries, Divi's Laboratories, Eicher Motors, HCL Tech and TCS - down 2.13-8.69 per cent each - were the worst hit among 26 Nifty laggards.
HDFC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the biggest contributors to the gain in Sensex.
The Nifty Bank index - which gauges stocks of 12 major lenders in the country - rose 4.15 per cent, snapping a three-session losing streak, led by IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank, which closed 6.3 per cent and 7.3 per cent higher respectively.
"Top banks and financial companies have seen some good results and we are seeing some stellar moves on those stocks," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.
ICICI Bank shares closed 6.25 per cent higher at Rs 417.10 apiece on the BSE, after the private sector lender reported a more than six-fold jump in net profit to Rs 4,251.33 crore in the July-September period.
Shares in Reliance Industries fell 8.62 per cent to Rs 1,877.30 in their worst day since March, after the conglomerate reported a 15 per cent drop in its July-September profit as the COVID-19 pandemic battered its oil business. Reliance Industries lost about Rs 91,600 crore in market value, after having gained in three of four sessions ahead of its earnings results.
