New Delhi, 06 November (H.S.): The domestic stock market continued its upward momentum for the seventh consecutive trading session on Friday, with both benchmark indices, the Sensex and the Nifty, registering sharp gains on the occasion of Dhanteras. Despite turmoil in global markets and a steep downturn in US technology stocks, the Indian equity market remained buoyant, reflecting the festive optimism.

The market had opened with modest gains in the morning. However, selling pressure soon dragged both benchmark indices into negative territory. Buyers subsequently stepped in, taking charge of the market. Supported by strong gains in heavyweight private banking and automobile stocks, the Sensex and the Nifty not only recovered their early losses but also gathered considerable momentum, eventually closing near their respective intraday highs.

At the end of the trading session, the Sensex had surged 2.17 per cent, while the Nifty gained 2.01 per cent. Following this sharp rally, the Nifty crossed the 25,000-mark and the Sensex moved above 81,000 for the first time since February 27.

Despite the strong performance of heavyweight stocks, the broader market remained under selling pressure, with both the mid-cap and small-cap indices ending in the red. Consequently, even though the two benchmark indices closed near their day's highs, investors' overall wealth increased by only Rs. 40,145.26 crore.

Meanwhile, the India VIX, an indicator measuring short-term market volatility, jumped 13.71 per cent to close at 17.72. The sharp rise signals the possibility of heightened volatility in the market in the coming days.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's (BSE) Sensex opened at 79,413.66, registering a modest gain of 103.65 points, or 0.13 per cent. However, heavy profit-booking and selling pressure immediately after the opening dragged the index down by 293.96 points, or 0.37 per cent, to an intraday low of 79,016.05 during the initial trading hours.

Subsequently, buyers became active in heavyweight stocks from the private banking and automobile sectors, triggering widespread buying across the market. The strong buying support helped the Sensex recover and move back into positive territory. The upward momentum continued as investors continued to accumulate stocks.

Supported by sustained buying, the Sensex staged a remarkable recovery of 2,011.97 points from its intraday low. It eventually closed at its day's high of 81,028.02, gaining 1,718.01 points, or 2.17 per cent.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange's (NSE) Nifty began the session at 24,538.20, recording a marginal gain of 1.60 points, or 0.007 per cent. However, selling pressure immediately after the opening pushed the index down by 148.55 points, or 0.61 per cent, to an intraday low of 24,388.05.

Thereafter, widespread buying across the market triggered a strong recovery in the Nifty, which soon returned to positive territory. Sustained buying interest further strengthened the index, enabling it to climb 642.30 points from its intraday low. The Nifty eventually closed at its day's high of 25,030.35, registering a substantial gain of 493.75 points, or 2.01 per cent.

Private banking stocks played the leading role in driving the market higher during the session, with the Nifty Private Bank index closing more than 3 per cent higher. The pharmaceutical and public sector bank (PSU Bank) indices also registered gains of more than half a per cent each.

However, profit-booking remained evident in the broader market and across several sectors. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 0.82 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 index ended marginally lower by 0.02 per cent after witnessing considerable fluctuations during the session.

Despite the record gains in both benchmark indices, the subdued performance of the broader market limited the increase in investors' overall wealth. The combined market capitalisation of all companies listed on the BSE rose from Rs. 5,02,70,373.34 crore at the close of the previous trading session on Thursday to Rs. 5,03,10,518.60 crore on Friday, provisionally. This represented an increase of just Rs. 40,145.26 crore in investors' wealth despite the sharp rally in the benchmark indices.

The BSE's advance-decline data also reflected the prevailing weakness in the broader market. Of the 4,626 stocks traded during the session, only 1,873 closed in positive territory, while 2,529 ended with losses. Another 224 stocks remained unchanged. Meanwhile, 110 stocks touched their 52-week highs, whereas 102 slipped to their 52-week lows.

On the NSE, a total of 3,291 stocks witnessed active trading. Of these, 1,188 advanced, while 2,103 declined. Among the 30 constituents of the Sensex, 29 closed with gains and only one ended lower. Similarly, 42 of the 50 Nifty constituents finished in positive territory, while eight closed in the red.

At the end of the day's trading, Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as the top gainer on the NSE, with its shares rising 5.11 per cent. ICICI Bank followed with a gain of 4.75 per cent, while HDFC Life advanced 3.95 per cent, HDFC Bank rose 3.72 per cent and Titan Company gained 3.42 per cent. These stocks constituted the top five gainers of the session.

On the other hand, TMPV emerged as the biggest loser, declining 0.58 per cent amid selling pressure despite the broader market rally. Eicher Motors fell 0.56 per cent, Power Grid Corporation declined 0.43 per cent, Shriram Finance slipped 0.30 per cent and Grasim Industries edged down 0.02 per cent. These were the five biggest laggards of the session.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar