Market Rises For The 2nd Straight Week, Sensex & Nifty Post Record Close, BSE M-Cap Soars Rs 6 Lakh Crore

The Indian equity markets surged to new record highs on Friday, September 20, 2024, driven by broad-based buying across sectors. Both frontline indices, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, posted robust gains, with the rally led by metals, autos, and financial stocks.

In Friday's trading session, the BSE Sensex jumped a massive 1,359.5 points, closing at 84,544, while the Nifty 50 surged by 375 points, ending the day at 25,791. Both indices posted record closings, with the Nifty 50 even breaching the 25,800 mark during intra-day trading. The Nifty Bank index also hit a fresh record, crossing the 54,000 level after a gap of 55 trading sessions.

The Midcap Index witnessed an equally impressive rally, climbing 857 points to close at 60,209, while the Nifty Bank rose by 757 points, closing at 53,793. This broad-based rally signifies the strength of the current bull market, with all the sectors experiencing gains.

The rally was supported by gains across all sectoral indices. Nifty Realty and Nifty Financials led the pack, posting the highest gains, as strong investor interest in these sectors continued to fuel the upward momentum. The Metals and Autos sectors also performed notably well, contributing significantly to the overall market gains.

Stocks from the Nifty Bank segment were particularly strong, with ICICI Bank posting its largest single-day gain since April, climbing more than 4%. The broader Banking sector benefited from positive sentiment around financials, as the index posted a 3% gain for the second straight week.

The market witnessed a flurry of stocks hitting their 52-week highs. More than 250 stocks, including big names like ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Bajaj Finserv, and JSW Steel, reached fresh yearly peaks during Friday's session. Other prominent names such as Zomato, Bajaj Holdings, Britannia Industries, Marico, and Eicher Motors also joined the 52-week high club.

Other notable stocks that achieved their one-year highs included Havells, Indian Hotels, Max Healthcare Institute, Persistent Systems, PI Industries, Trent, and United Spirits. These gains were largely driven by strong market sentiment and optimism surrounding corporate earnings and business prospects.

The total market capitalization of companies listed on the BSE rose to a record Rs 472 lakh crore, up from Rs 465.7 lakh crore in the previous session. This Rs 6 lakh crore wealth addition in a single day underscores the bullish momentum in the market.

ICICI Bank was one of the top performers in the banking space, posting its biggest single-day gain since April 29, surging more than 4%. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), part of the Mahindra Group, was the top gainer in the Nifty 50, regaining a market cap of Rs 6 lakh crore. Shipbuilding stocks also had a stellar day, with Cochin Shipyard and Garden Reach Shipbuilders both surging nearly 10% each.

On the flip side, sectors such as Nifty IT and Pharma underperformed relative to the broader market. The Nifty IT index, in particular, ended the week nearly 3% lower, weighed down by losses in tech giants TCS and HCLTech.

Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) also had a strong finish to the week. BEL and BPCL were up by nearly 2% each, while Reliance Infrastructure continued its upward streak, gaining for the fifth straight session. Similarly, Reliance Power surged for the seventh consecutive session.

Among financial stocks, IIFL Finance jumped nearly 7% after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted the ban on its gold loan business. Market breadth remained firmly in favour of advances, with the advance-decline ratio standing at a healthy 2:1.

Weekly Market Wrap

For the second straight week, both the Sensex and Nifty ended on a positive note, largely driven by strong performances from financial and midcap stocks. The Nifty Bank index rose nearly 3% for the second consecutive week, while the Nifty Midcap index also ended in the green, buoyed by Friday's strong gains.

However, not all sectors performed equally well. The Nifty IT and Pharma indices ended the week as the top laggards, with the Nifty IT index down nearly 3% for the week.