Short cover drive sends sensex over 77,980pts

Mumbai : Benchmark BSE Sensex surged by 1,078 points to close at a six-week high on Monday as fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in banking and oil & gas shares helped the index extend the winning run to the sixth day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,078.87 points or 1.40 per cent to settle at 77,984.38, a level not seen since February 6. During the day, it zoomed 1,201.72 points or 1.56 per cent to breach the 78,000 level and touch a high of 78,107.23. The NSE Nifty surged by 307.95 points or 1.32 per cent to 23,658.35.

Investors became richer by Rs27.10 lakh crore in six-day rally. The BSE benchmark gauge jumped 4,155.47 points or 5.62 per cent in six trading days. The market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed firms zoomed Rs27,10,918.98 crore to Rs4,18,29,351.91 crore (Rs418.29 lakh cr or $4.87 trn) during this period.

“Short covering ahead of monthly F&O expiry later this week fueled the rally as the Sensex breached the psychological 78K mark intra-day on across-the-board buying. Renewed optimism by foreign investors coupled with strong US and European market cues further bolstered the sentiment,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior V-P (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.32 per cent and smallcap index climbed 1.17 per cent. Intra-day, the benchmark zoomed 358.35 points or 1.53 per cent to 23,708.75. A positive trend in the US and European markets powered the rally in domestic equities, experts said. A sharp rebound in the rupee also bolstered investor sentiment.

Mumbai

India’s stock market recorded the highest monthly gain among the world’s ten largest equity markets in March, rising 9.4 per cent in dollar terms, as per latest stock exchange data. This marks the strongest rally in four years, following five consecutive months of decline. According to the exchange data, the total market capitalisation (mcap) of all listed companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) surged to approximately $4.8 trillion, up from around $4.87 trillion (Rs418.29 lakh cr) at the end of February. This is the biggest monthly jump since May 2021. India outperformed other major markets, with Germany following at a distant second with a 5.64 per cent rise in market capitalisation to over $2.81 trillion.

Japan and Hong Kong gained 4.9 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. France, the United Kingdom, and Canada also recorded modest growth. In contrast, the US, the world’s largest equity market, saw a decline of 3.7 per cent, while Saudi Arabia fell by 4.4 per cent.