Mumbai, Nov 3: Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply higher on Monday, with the Sensex surging 1,233 points and the Nifty crossing the 23,400 mark, powered by a spectacular rally in Reliance Industries after its quarterly results, easing crude oil prices and renewed buying by foreign investors.
The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 1,233.25 points, or 1.66 per cent, to close at 75,692.78, while the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 387.70 points, or 1.68 per cent, to settle at 23,440.80. Both indices closed at their day's highs, extending their winning streak to a third consecutive session.
The Sensex opened at 75,178.24 and climbed through the session to finish at its peak, while the Nifty opened at 23,222.30, touched an intraday low of 23,207.05 and rallied to close at its high of 23,440.80. The previous session's Nifty close had been 23,053.10, making Monday's gain one of the strongest single-day advances of recent months.
Reliance Industries was the undisputed star of the session. The stock jumped 11.6 per cent, its strongest single-day performance since April 2020 and its third-biggest single-day gain in the past 10 years, after reporting strong second-quarter earnings. The surge accounted for about 61 per cent of the Sensex's gains and nearly half of the Nifty's rise, according to market reports, underlining the heavyweight's outsized influence on the benchmarks.
Among other Nifty 50 stocks, Tata Steel gained 5.8 per cent and JSW Steel rose 5.1 per cent, while Shriram Finance was also among the top gainers. The rally was broad-based, with buying interest visible across sectors, but metals and oil and gas stocks led the way. The Nifty Oil and Gas index rose 5.95 per cent, Nifty Metal gained 3.21 per cent, Consumer Durables added 2.7 per cent, PSU Bank rose 1.36 per cent and Auto gained 1.33 per cent.
Several factors came together to drive the rally. First, Reliance's quarterly results beat expectations, reassuring investors about earnings momentum in India's most valuable company. Second, global crude oil prices eased, retreating from their previous week's highs of around 117 dollars per barrel to about 108 dollars per barrel on Monday, according to market reports.
Lower crude prices are good news for India, a major oil importer, because they ease inflation pressures and the import bill.
Third, foreign investors turned buyers, with early signs of a return of foreign fund inflows amid a global rotation in artificial intelligence-related stocks and improving domestic economic indicators. Fourth, optimism over diplomatic efforts to end the war involving Iran added to positive sentiment, as markets hoped for a de-escalation that would further cool energy prices.
Market experts said the rally had a solid technical foundation as well. The Nifty closed firmly above its 50-day simple moving average and was approaching the key resistance level of 23,500. Analysts identified 23,300 and 23,200 as immediate support levels for the Nifty, and 75,300 and 75,000 for the Sensex.
With momentum turning positive, experts said the index was heading towards the next resistance zone of 23,500 to 23,600, while the 23,250 to 23,350 band should now provide immediate support.
The mood on Dalal Street reflected relief as much as optimism. After weeks in which surging crude prices and foreign selling had weighed on sentiment, Monday's session offered a reminder of the market's capacity for sharp rebounds when earnings, oil and fund flows align. Vikram Kasat, Chief Business Officer for Advisory and Dealing at PL Capital, described the session as a relief-led rally, supported by easing crude prices and strong corporate earnings.
The rally also kicked off the Diwali week on a strong note, with traders noting that festive-season sentiment often adds to buying interest. The strong start to the week, coming on the back of two previous sessions of gains, suggested that the market's recent correction may have run its course, at least for now.
For retail investors, the session was a welcome change after a period of volatility. Portfolios that had been dented by the crude-driven sell-off recovered ground, and the breadth of the rally, with gains across large, mid and small segments, suggested that confidence was returning beyond just the headline indices.
There are, however, reasons for caution. Crude prices remain elevated by historical standards, and any setback in diplomatic efforts or a fresh spike in oil could quickly reverse sentiment. Foreign investor flows, while positive on Monday, have been fickle in recent months, and earnings season still has further results to deliver.
Market watchers will also keep an eye on global cues, including the direction of United States markets and the outcome of key policy decisions abroad.
The technical picture, though, is encouraging for the bulls. Closing at the day's high, with both benchmarks above key levels, gives the market a strong base for the next sessions. If the Nifty can hold above 23,250 and push through 23,500, analysts say the next target would be 23,600, while a break below 23,250 would weaken the breakout and invite profit-taking.
For now, Monday's session will be remembered as a Reliance-driven rally that lifted the entire market. A near 12 per cent surge in a single stock of Reliance's size is a rare event, and its impact on the indices was immediate and dramatic. Combined with easing oil prices and returning foreign buyers, it produced the kind of day that resets market narratives, at least temporarily.
Beyond the headline indices, the session also mattered for what it signalled about risk appetite. When heavyweight earnings surprise positively and crude cools at the same time, institutional investors tend to add exposure rather than trim it, and Monday's foreign buying hinted at exactly that shift. Whether that buying persists through the rest of the week will be one of the clearest tests of whether the rally has durable support or was a one-day surge.
As the Diwali week progresses, traders will watch whether the rally sustains itself or whether profit-taking emerges at higher levels. The next sessions will test whether Monday's gains were the start of a fresh uptrend or a sharp rebound within a still-cautious market. Either way, the session underlined a familiar truth of Indian markets: when Reliance moves, the market moves with it.
(Reporting based on The Hindu BusinessLine, Financial Express, Moneycontrol and Business Today.)