Equities made a roaring start to an eventful week with the benchmark Sensex zooming nearly 1241 points sparked by hectic buying in Reliance Industries Ltd.
Apart from a rally in the Asian markets, the return of Nitish Kumar to the NDA supported the markets as the threat of a united Opposition to the Modi-led government’s return to power seemed to recede.
While the widespread gains led to investor wealth rising Rs 6 lakh crore, Reliance was
the star of the show with its shares closing with gains of 6.86 per cent or Rs 185.80 at Rs 2896.15 on the BSE.
Reliance hit a record high of Rs 2,905 in intra-day trades, a gain of nearly 7.20 per cent. The stock added almost Rs 1 lakh crore to its market value which rose to over Rs 19.59 lakh crore.
Market circles said the breakout came on bets of value unlocking in its digital services and organised retail businesses, following the listing of Jio Financial Services last year.
The possibility of telecom companies hiking tariffs after the general elections is another reason behind the surge in the shares.
The jump in Reliance shares comes ahead of an eventful week that will see finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the interim budget on Thursday.
The US Federal Reserve will also begin its two-day meeting on January 30. Amid indications of a status quo in rates, markets will be watching out for any indications of the timing of rate cuts.
“Firm global cues lifted the domestic market sentiment, as the broad-based rally pushed the benchmark Sensex above the psychological 72000-mark towards the closing stage led by RIL which scaled a fresh record high,” Prashanth Tapse, senior VP (research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
“After last week’s major sell-off triggered by FII selling, further short-covering coupled with recovery in global indices aided renewed optimism in the markets.”
Buoyed by strong Asian markets, the Sensex opened higher at 70968.10 and soared 1309.55 points or 1.85 per cent to 72010.22 as it built on the momentum generated by Reliance.
At close, the BSE bellwether vaulted 1240.90 points or 1.76 per cent to end at 71941.57. The broader Nifty advanced 385 points on the NSE to close at 21737.60.
“Domestic market started the week on a buoyant note with renewed buying seen in index heavyweights. This week two important events are scheduled for Thursday — interim budget and US Fed meeting, which could induce some volatility,” Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory, while Shanghai ended lower.
European markets were trading mostly lower.
US main stock indexes had a sluggish start on Monday, ahead of major events this week including the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.18 per cent to $83.40 a barrel.
