Sensex rises 459 points, Nifty ends at 18,476; PSBs and metal stocks lead charge

Rallying for the seventh day in a row benchmark domestic equity indices ended with strong gains after hitting their respective highs led by gains in index heavyweights Infosys, ICICI Bank, RIL and ITC. Market participants discounted a weak start for European peers and focused on strong Q2 India Inc earnings, record vaccine spree and revival in consumption demand ahead of the festive season. At close Sensex surged 459 points or 0.75% to end at a fresh closing peak of 61,765 after scaling to a new high of 61,963. Even the Nifty 50 index settled at a new high of 18,476 advancing 138 points or 0.75%. Earlier in the day the index scaled to a new top of 18,543. "The domestic market traded at record highs withstanding the weak trends in the global market due to disappointing Chinese GDP numbers and global inflationary pressure as a result of energy shortage. Chinese GDP grew by just 4.9% during the July-September quarter owing to lower than expected growth in industrial activity. However, the trend in the Indian market was bullish as PSU Banks, Metals, IT and Energy stocks took charge of the rally," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Gainers & losers

[caption id="attachment_90428" align="alignnone" width="795"] Top gainers & losers on the Sensex.[/caption]

Sectoral strand

Most major sectoral indices ended in the green on the NSE. Nifty PSU Bank was the star of the day as it surged 3.98% followed by the Nifty Metal index rallied 3.89% after China reported a slow down in steel production. While Nifty IT index jumped 1.57% whereas Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty and Nifty FMCG indices advanced in the range of 0.12-0.90%. On the downside, the Nifty Pharma index lost 0.89% and the Nifty Media index fell 0.72%. Volatility index India VIX spiked 8.99% to 17.18 levels.

Broader markets

Broader markets mirrored gains in benchmark indices and ended at fresh peaks. The BSE MidCap index scaled to a new peak of 27,123 however settled at 26,952 surging 252 points or 0.95%. While BSE SmallCap index jumped 207 points or 69% to end above the 30,000 mark at 30,100 after hitting a new top of 30,258. The market breadth ended flat as 1,832 shares advanced compared to 1,615 declined and 177 remained unchanged.

Global markets

European stocks fell across the board while most Asian stocks declined on Monday, 18 October 2021, as global markets geared up for big earnings reports. China's economic growth continued to decelerate in the third quarter, as the gross domestic product came in at 4.9%, softened by the country's zero-tolerance COVID measures and energy shortages. The figure slid from 7.9% for the April-to-June quarter, weighed down by high commodity prices amid uncertainty kindled by the Evergrande Group's debt crisis, which is piling risk onto the property and banking sectors. US stocks rose on Friday as Goldman Sachs rounded out a week of strong quarterly earnings for the big banks.