Sensex Jumps 480 Points, Nifty Reclaims 25,700 as PSU Banks and Autos Lead Rally

Mumbai, February 23: Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Monday, with the 30 share BSE Sensex and the 50 share NSE Nifty posting solid gains amid improved global cues. The rally was largely driven by strength in PSU banks, auto, and financial stocks after the US Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariff policy, lifting investor sentiment.

Sensex and Nifty Close Firm After Intraday Surge​

The 30 share BSE Sensex advanced 479.95 points, or 0.58 percent, to settle at 83,294.66. During the session, the index climbed as much as 671.44 points, or 0.81 percent, to touch an intraday high of 83,486.15.

Market breadth, however, remained negative on the BSE, where 2,435 stocks declined, 1,894 advanced, and 168 remained unchanged.

The NSE Nifty 50 gained 141.75 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 25,713. In intraday trade, it rose 200.2 points, or 0.78 percent, to hit a high of 25,771.45.

On Friday, the Sensex had ended at 82,814.71 after rising 316.57 points, while the Nifty settled at 25,571.25, up 116.90 points.

Adani Ports, Kotak Mahindra Bank Among Top Gainers​

Among the Sensex constituents, Adani Ports emerged as the top gainer, rising 2.98 percent. Other major gainers included Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, PowerGrid, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Larsen & Toubro.

On the downside, losses were seen in Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Trent, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Eternal, Tata Steel, and IndiGo.

Sectoral Indices: PSU Banks Outperform, IT Under Pressure​

Sectorally, PSU Bank index led the gains with a rise of 1.4 percent. Services gained 0.97 percent, Hospitals 0.89 percent, Healthcare 0.76 percent, Power 0.72 percent, Auto 0.71 percent, Financial Services 0.65 percent, FMCG 0.54 percent, and Utilities 0.52 percent.

In contrast, Information Technology, Focused IT, Commodities, Private Banks Index, Bankex, Consumer Durables, Metal, and Realty ended in negative territory.

Broader markets delivered a mixed performance. The BSE Smallcap Select Index rose 0.41 percent, while the Midcap Select Index declined 1.56 percent.

Global Cues and Institutional Activity​

Asian markets ended mostly higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 2.53 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi rose nearly 1 percent. Markets in Japan and mainland China were closed for holidays.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX was down 0.44 percent during mid session trade, while France’s CAC 40 and London’s FTSE 100 traded flat.

Brent crude slipped 0.38 percent to 71.49 dollars per barrel.

On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 934.61 crore on Friday. Domestic institutional investors, however, purchased stocks worth Rs 2,637.15 crore, offsetting the FII outflows.

With PSU banks, auto, and financial stocks attracting buying interest, the benchmarks managed to extend their gains, even as IT shares remained under pressure and broader market participation stayed uneven.