Sensex rallies 1,436 pts to end at 2-week high on gains in financial, auto shares

MUMBAI: Benchmark Sensex rallied 1,436 points to close at a two-week high on Thursday on buying in financial, auto and IT shares, extending gains to the second day of the New Year.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 1,436.30 points or 1.83 per cent -- its best single-day gain in more than a month -- to settle at 79,943.71. During the day, it soared 1,525.46 points or 1.94 per cent to 80,032.87.

The NSE Nifty surged 445.75 points or 1.88 per cent to 24,188.65 as 48 of its constituents closed in green.

From 30 Sensex shares, Bajaj Finserv jumped nearly 8 per cent while Bajaj Finance soared over 6 per cent. Maruti, Titan, Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Tech, Zomato, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other major gainers.

Sun Pharma emerged as the only laggard.

"Increased momentum was observed in the domestic market, driven by optimism about the upcoming earnings season starting next week. The rally was broad-based, with most sectoral indices posting gains. The auto sector led the way, showing the strongest momentum due to robust December sales that defied the usual subdued demand. Banking and IT stocks also performed well, as the economy bottomed in Q2," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.89 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.68 per cent.

All sectoral indices ended in positive territory. Auto surged the most by 3.66 per cent, followed by BSE Focused IT (2.34 per cent), IT (2.31 per cent), consumer discretionary (2.24 per cent), teck (2.19 per cent), consumer durables (2.02 per cent) and commodities (1.41 per cent).

As many as 2,395 stocks advanced while 1,574 declined and 117 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The gross GST collection rose 7.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.77 lakh crore in December despite a significant increase in both domestic and export refunds.

India's manufacturing sector growth fell to a 12-month low in December, as new business orders and production expanded at softer rates, a monthly survey said on Thursday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index was at 56.4 in December, down from 56.5 in November, indicating a weaker improvement in operating conditions.

Despite the decline, the headline figure remained above its long-run average of 54.1 thereby signalling a robust rate of growth. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. European markets were trading mostly lower. US markets were closed on Wednesday for New Year holiday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,782.71 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.09 per cent to USD 75.47 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark climbed 368.40 points or 0.47 per cent to settle at 78,507.41 on the first trading session of 2025 on Wednesday. The Nifty went up by 98.10 points or 0.41 per cent to 23,742.90.