Indian stocks experienced a robust rally, propelling the benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty50, to a strong close on Friday, just a day after encountering setbacks due to the indictment of Adani Group's founder, Gautam Adani, along with several top executives by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission over alleged bribery charges.
The rally in the Indian market was fueled by exit poll predictions suggesting a victory for the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections, generally favorable global cues, vigorous buying in technology and banking stocks, and active participation by domestic funds.
Sectors including technology, automobiles, banking, FMCG, metals, real estate, and healthcare performed notably well, garnering significant attention, particularly in the latter part of the trading session.
The BSE benchmark Sensex ended the day with a notable gain of 1,961.32 points or 2.54%, closing at 79,117.11. Meanwhile, the broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange surged by 557.35 points or 2.39% to close at 23,907.25.
On the economic front, preliminary data from S&P Global indicated that the HSBC India Composite PMI rose to 59.5 in November 2024 from a final reading of 59.1 the previous month, marking the highest level since August.
The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI slightly declined to 57.3 in November 2024 from 57.5 in October, while the HSBC India Services PMI increased to 59.2 in November 2024 from a final reading of 58.5 in October, based on preliminary estimates.
Key contributors to the rally included State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, and Titan, with gains ranging from 4.1% to 4.6%. Additionally, ITC, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, HCL Technologies, JSW Steel, and UltraTech Cement saw increases between 3.2% and 4%.
Other prominent gainers were Bharti Airtel, Power Grid Corporation, NTPC, M&M, Hind Unilever, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Nestle, and IndusInd Bank, each rising between 1.7% and 3%.
Adani Group stocks exhibited a strong rebound; however, some counters in the group struggled to maintain their gains and closed on a weaker note. Adani Ports rallied approximately 2%, while Adani Enterprises ended with a 2.1% gain and Adani Total Gas rose by 1.5%. ACC and Ambuja Cements advanced by 3.1% and 3.8%, respectively.
Conversely, Adani Energy Solutions suffered a near 7% loss, Adani Green Energy fell by 8%, Adani Power closed down 3%, and Adani Wilmar ended the day 0.6% lower.
The market breadth was considerably positive, with 2,446 stocks advancing, 1,475 stocks declining, and 120 stocks remaining unchanged on the BSE.
