Sensex hits 74,000-mark again

MUMBAI: Rising for the fifth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex rallied nearly 500 points to reclaim the 74,000 mark, while the Nifty closed above the 22,550 level on Thursday due to heavy buying in banking, financial and metal stocks.

Recovering after a sell-off in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 486.50 points or 0.66 per cent to settle at 74,339.44. During the day, it surged 718.31 points or 0.97 per cent to 74,571.25.

The NSE Nifty advanced 167.95 points or 0.75 per cent to 22,570.35. “Indian benchmark indices opened on a weak note, but the markets gained strength in the H2 to end in the green for a fifth consecutive session. The weak opening can be attributed to negative cues from Asian peers. Buying in the second half came in select banks and FMCG stocks like Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Nestle,” said Avdhut Bagkar, technical and derivatives analyst, StoxBox.

From the Sensex basket, Axis Bank jumped 6 per cent after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 7,599 crore during the March 2024 quarter.

SBI, NTPC, Nestle, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra and HCL Technologies were among the other major gainers. Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and Asian Paints were among the laggards. Kotak Mahindra Bank tanked 10.85 per cent after the RBI barred the company from onboarding customers online and issuing credit cards.

FMCG major Nestle India on Thursday reported a 27 pc surge in net profit at Rs 934 crore for the Q4 ended March 31, 2024, on account of strong growth momentum across its product portfolio. In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.71 per cent and smallcap advanced 0.54 per cent.

Among the indices, services advanced 1.71 per cent, metal (1.16 pc), healthcare (0.97 pc), power (0.94 pc) and energy (0.87 pc). Consumer durables and realty were the laggards.