New Delhi, 06 July (H.S.): The domestic equity market ended the first trading session of the week on a strong note, extending its gains for the fourth consecutive day. Softer international crude oil prices, robust buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), and strong quarterly earnings reported by several banks boosted investor sentiment throughout the trading session.

The market opened on a positive note and gathered momentum soon after the opening bell as sustained buying lifted both benchmark indices. Although profit booking triggered a brief pullback after 1:30 p.m., fresh buying emerged shortly thereafter, helping the indices recover and close firmly in positive territory. At the close, the BSE Sensex advanced 0.67 per cent, while the NSE Nifty gained 0.66 per cent.

Buying interest remained strong throughout the day in the realty, consumer durables and oil & gas sectors. Energy, banking, automobile, capital goods, FMCG, healthcare, metal and public sector enterprise stocks also ended higher. In contrast, media and information technology stocks witnessed selling pressure.

The broader market also maintained a positive trend. The Nifty Midcap Index closed 0.45 per cent higher, while the Nifty Smallcap Index ended the session with gains of 0.75 per cent.

The rally added more than Rs 2.64 lakh crore to investors' wealth. The total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE rose to a provisional Rs 482.33 lakh crore at the close of trading, compared with Rs 479.69 lakh crore on the previous trading session, resulting in a gain of approximately Rs 2.64 lakh crore.

During the session, 4,544 stocks were actively traded on the BSE. Of these, 2,054 advanced, 2,286 declined and 204 closed unchanged. On the NSE, 3,016 stocks were actively traded, with 1,371 ending in the green and 1,645 closing lower.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 17 stocks ended higher while 13 declined. On the Nifty, 26 stocks closed with gains and 24 ended in negative territory.

The BSE Sensex opened 176.99 points higher at 77,940.90. Shortly after the opening, the index slipped marginally to an intraday low of 77,879.70 amid early volatility. It then rebounded sharply on sustained buying and climbed to an intraday high of 78,398.06, up 634.15 points, around 1:30 p.m. Profit booking trimmed some of the gains later in the day, but renewed buying before the close helped the benchmark finish 521.16 points higher at 78,285.07.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty opened 36 points higher at 24,306.85. Initial selling dragged the index to an intraday low of 24,287.10 before strong buying support pushed it to an intraday high of 24,458.65, up 187.80 points. Despite some late profit booking, the benchmark settled 159.50 points higher at 24,430.35.

Among the Sensex and Nifty heavyweights, HDFC Bank emerged as the top performer with a gain of 3.60 per cent, followed by Hindalco Industries (2.85 per cent), Bajaj Auto (2.57 per cent), ONGC (2.55 per cent), and Mahindra & Mahindra (2.05 per cent).

On the losing side, Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 3.89 per cent, followed by Max Healthcare (1.81 per cent), TCS (1.71 per cent), Coal India (1.45 per cent), and Bajaj Finserv (1.31 per cent).

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar