Markets build on gains amid F&O expiry

Mumbai: The Sensex surged past 51,000 points while the Nifty reclaimed the 15,000-mark on Thursday as indices darted up for the third straight session amid expiry of monthly derivative contracts and bullish global equities.

A whopping increase in FPI inflows also boosted risk appetite, traders said. Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth a net Rs 28,739.17 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Global markets followed Wall Street higher after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policy rates could remain low for years, calming inflation concerns. The 30-share BSE Sensex spurted 257.62 points or 0.51 per cent to finish at 51,039.31.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 115.35 points or 0.77 per cent to 15,097.35. ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 4.66 per cent, followed by NTPC, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and PowerGrid. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries advanced 3.84 per cent, accounting for the lion's share of the benchmark's gains. Axis Bank jumped 2.94 per cent after regulator Irdai approved the lender's stake buy in Max Life Insurance. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Nestle India, L&T, Kotak Bank, Titan and HDFC were among the major laggards, slipping up to 2.10 per cent.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, Moody's raised its growth projections for India, saying the economy is expected to clock a growth of 13.7 per cent in FY'22 on the back of normalisation of activity and rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. "Domestic market added strength on yesterday's rally supported by positive F&O monthly roll-over and robust global market. Small and mid-cap stocks continued its outperformance over the benchmark indices.

"World equity market rebound after getting assurance from central banks, importantly Fed, that good liquidity will be maintained, in spite of being under pressure of rising inflation, since the economy is still well below the pre-Covid standpoint," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. BSE energy, oil and gas, metal, utilities, basic materials, power and realty indices rallied up to 3.92 per cent, while FMCG and capital goods indices closed lower. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices surged up to 1.42 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with significant gains. Stock exchanges in Europe were largely trading on a positive note in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.50 per cent higher at $66.51 per barrel. The Indian rupee ended 8 paise lower at 72.43 against the US dollar, weighed down by the spike in global crude oil prices.