RIL delivers a blockbuster boost to Dalal Street

Mumbai: Rising for the third straight session, benchmark stock index Sensex rallied 1,233 points to close at a more than seven-week high, while Nifty ended above 23,400 on Monday after sharp gains in Reliance Industries following its earnings and cooling crude oil prices.

Rallying for the third day, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,233.25 points, or 1.66 per cent, to settle at the day's high of 75,692.78, a level not seen since September 7.

The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 387.70 points, or 1.68 per cent, to end at the day's high of 23,440.80, also the highest closing level in more than five weeks. From the 30 Sensex firms, Reliance Industries surged 11.64 per cent after the firm posted a record quarterly profit of Rs 29,550 crore for July-September, up 33.8 per cent from the year-ago period, as its oil-to-chemicals business rode a surge in global fuel margins and growth in its telecom arm offset the relatively subdued performance in retail.

Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, State Bank of India, NTPC and Maruti Suzuki were also among the gainers. Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, tanked 4.46 per cent to USD 108.7 per barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,598.54 crore on Friday, according to the exchange data. "Indian equities opened the week on a firm footing, supported by better-than-estimated Q2 earnings and improving domestic cues. Domestic macro indicators provided an additional boost to sentiment, with October passenger-vehicle sales growth reflecting healthy festive demand, while gross GST collections increased, reinforcing the resilience of domestic consumption and economic activity. "Global cues were also supportive, with softer crude oil prices and renewed US-Iran diplomatic efforts helping ease concerns around energy costs and geopolitical risks. Foreign investors turning buyers as a global AI rotation also provided support to domestic equities," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

GST collections jumped 23 per cent year-on-year to the second-highest level of over Rs 2.31 lakh crore in October as festive buying boosted domestic demand, according to government data released on Sunday.

Buoyed by robust festive demand, domestic passenger vehicle dispatches breached the record 5-lakh mark in October, with leading automakers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Mahindra & Mahindra recording their highest-ever monthly sales.

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