Budget cheer continues with heavy buying in banking stocks
Mumbai: The BSE Sensex surged nearly 700 points to recapture the 59,000-level on Wednesday as the post-Budget rally continued for the second session with intense buying in banking and financial stocks amid supportive global cues.
Investors' wealth has jumped Rs 9,57,201.52 crore in the last three days of rally in equity market as stocks continued to march higher amid the Budget-led euphoria.
The Union Budget 2022-23, with higher allocation to infrastructure, is likely to provide a boost to the ongoing economic recovery through a sharp increase in capex spending, which has been welcomed by the market, traders said.
The 30-share BSE benchmark climbed 695.76 points or 1.18 per cent to finish at 59,558.33 — its third straight session of gains. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 203.15 points or 1.16 per cent to end at 17,780.00.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 5.57 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank.
HDFC rose 1.87 per cent after the country's largest mortgage lender reported a nearly 13 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 5,837 crore for the December quarter.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, L&T and Sun Pharma were among the laggards, dropping as much as 1.61 per cent. Of the Sensex constituents, 21 shares closed higher while 9 were in the red.
All BSE sectoral indices clocked gains, led by bankex, finance, consumer durables, healthcare, realty, IT and teck, which rose as much as 2.08 per cent.
In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap gauges jumped up to 1.54 per cent.
Global markets were buoyant on the back of robust corporate earnings, despite concerns over Russia-Ukraine tensions and elevated inflation.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed with healthy gains. Several Asian markets, including China, Hong Kong and South Korea, were shut for the Lunar New Year holidays.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading in the green in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.27 per cent to $89.40 per barrel.
