Pre-Diwali Surge: Sensex Rises Over 2,400 Points in Just Two Days

MUMBAI: The Sensex surged over 1,000 points for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, closing at 76,918 points, a 1.6% increase. This rally was fueled by softer crude oil prices, robust foreign fund buying, declining U.S. yields, and a strengthening rupee. The index gained 1,233 points on Monday, marking a total increase of 2,458 points or 3.3% over two days, the best performance since April 8.

The Sensex opened strong, rising about 600 points, and reached an intraday high of 77,093 points before settling slightly lower. The Nifty also mirrored this trend, closing at 23,811 points, up 370 points or 1.6%. This marked the fourth consecutive session of gains ahead of the Diwali festivities.

According to Ankur Punj, MD of Equirus Wealth, the domestic market’s sharp rally was driven by easing tensions in West Asia and falling crude oil prices, alongside positive Q2 earnings reports from companies. Despite weak global cues, there was significant buying activity in domestic equities, supported by fresh foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and a recovering rupee. Brent crude prices fell to approximately $103 per barrel, down 1.3%, from last week’s high of $117, which had previously weakened the rupee to nearly 96 to the dollar. On Tuesday, the rupee strengthened by 16 paise, closing at 94.73 to the dollar.

Foreign funds recorded a net buying of Rs 6,837 crore in the secondary market on Tuesday, while domestic funds were net sellers at Rs 3,679 crore. This strong inflow followed a net purchase of Rs 3,115 crore in stocks on Monday. The market’s gains added approximately Rs 4.5 lakh crore to investors’ wealth, bringing the total market capitalization of companies listed on the BSE to Rs 486.8 lakh crore. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Bharti Airtel were the top contributors to the day’s index gains.