MUMBAI — After six weeks of getting pushed lower, the Indian market finally pushed back. The Sensex gained 564 points on Monday, while the Nifty climbed back above 23,400 as falling crude prices and buying in heavyweight stocks gave investors some room to breathe.
The Sensex closed at 74,858.99, up 564.03 points, or 0.76%. The Nifty 50 added 67.90 points, or 0.29%, to finish at 23,414.30. It was a better session for large stocks, although the rally was not broad enough to call it a clean market turnaround. Twelve of the 16 major sectoral indices ended higher, while midcaps and smallcaps slipped.
Banks and Reliance did much of the heavy lifting. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries all gained, while pharma and FMCG stocks also found buyers. HCL Technologies rose sharply, and UltraTech Cement was another notable gainer. On the other side, IT and PSU bank stocks remained weak.
The biggest change came from oil. Brent crude fell to around $101.2 a barrel, giving Indian equities something they badly needed after crude had crossed $100 and started raising fresh concerns over inflation, the rupee and India’s import bill. The fall followed signs that Saudi oil exports were beginning to recover after disruptions to its pipeline network.
Foreign money also stopped running for the exit, at least for a day. FPIs bought ₹599.54 crore of Indian equities on September 18, their first net purchase after seven consecutive selling sessions.
Domestic institutions bought another ₹1,019.69 crore. Yet September’s larger picture remains different: FPIs are still net sellers of about ₹7,041 crore, while domestic institutions have put in more than ₹36,000 crore.
The primary market is also absorbing money. The $2.3-billion NSE IPO closed fully subscribed, giving investors another place to deploy cash while the secondary market tries to recover.
