Sensex jumps 1,131 points, Nifty closes above 22,800 as markets rally

Mumbai, March 18 (IANS) Indian stock markets ended on a strong note on Tuesday, with both the Sensex and Nifty posting significant gains.

The Sensex surged 1,131.31 points, or 1.53 per cent, to close at 75,301.26, while the Nifty climbed 325.55 points, or 1.45 per cent, to settle at 22,834.30.

During the day, the Sensex hit an intra-day high of 75,385.76, while the Nifty traded between 22,599.20 and 22,845.95.

This marked the second consecutive session of strong gains for the benchmark indices.

"The rally was primarily driven by realty, automobiles, metals, and banks, which contributed significantly to the market's gains," Sundar Kewat of Institutional Equity Desk said.

He added that from an options perspective, the highest open interest on the call side was at 23,000 & 23,500, while put-side open interest was concentrated at 22,500 & 22,700.

"Softer-than-expected US retail sales data fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve might consider interest rate cuts later this year," Kewat stated.

The strong rally across sectors and broader indices indicates continued investor confidence, pushing the markets to higher levels.

The market saw a broad-based rally, with 2,715 stocks advancing, 1,153 declining, and 117 remaining unchanged.

Investors remained bullish as most stocks saw gains. Among the top gainers on the Nifty were ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Shriram Finance, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and Tata Motors.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, and Tech Mahindra were among the few stocks that ended lower.

Sectoral indices performed well, with all sectors closing in positive territory. The auto, capital goods, consumer durables, metal, power, realty, and media sectors saw gains of 2-3 per cent.

Broader markets also performed well, with smallcap stocks leading the rally. The Nifty Smallcap100 index surged 2.71 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap100 index gained 2.10 per cent.

Sectoral indices on the NSE closed in positive territory, with gains of up to 3.62 per cent. The Indian rupee strengthened against the dollar, ending 23 paise higher at 86.56 per dollar, compared to the previous close of 86.79.

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