Market Rally Continues: Sensex Surges 568 Points, Nears Record High as Nifty 50 Approaches 23,600

Indian Stock Market Gains for Second Consecutive Session

On March 17, the Sensex and the Nifty 50 indices ended with healthy gains, tracking positive global cues. The Sensex rose 568 points, or 0.75%, to close at 76,070.84, while the Nifty 50 settled at 23,581.15, rising 172 points, or 0.74%.

Gains were broad-based, with the BSE 150 Midcap index jumping 1.08% and the BSE 250 Smallcap index climbing 0.43%. Over two sessions, the Sensex has gained more than 1,500 points, or 2%, while the Nifty 50 has jumped 430 points, or nearly 2%. Investors earned more than ₹3 lakh crore in just two sessions as the overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms rose to over ₹433 lakh crore from nearly ₹430 lakh crore on Friday.

The rally in the Indian stock market over the last two sessions has been driven primarily by short covering after the recent drubbings. On Tuesday, positive global cues seem to have triggered buying in the second half of the session, even as crude oil prices continue to trade above $100 per barrel and the Indian rupee remains near a record low.

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Sectoral indices such as Nifty Metal (up 2.82%), Auto (up 2.11%), and Realty (up 1.80%) clocked solid gains. Nifty Bank and Financial Services indices rose by almost 1% each. Barring Nifty IT (down 0.97%) and FMCG (down 0.75%), all sectoral indices ended higher.

Technical Outlook Technical experts see some positive signs on technical charts, indicating a potential pullback. Shrikant Chouhan, Head- Equity Research, Kotak Securities, highlighted that a bullish candle on the daily charts and an intraday continuation pattern indicate that a pullback is likely to continue in the near future. Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, noted that the Nifty 50 has given a falling channel breakout on the hourly chart, suggesting a rise in optimism.

Key Figures

• Sensex: 76,070.84 (up 568 points, or 0.75%)
• Nifty 50: 23,581.15 (up 172 points, or 0.74%)
• BSE 150 Midcap index: 1.08% (up)
• BSE 250 Smallcap index: 0.43% (up)
• Market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms: over ₹433 lakh crore (up)
• Crude oil prices: above $100 per barrel
• Indian rupee: near a record low of 92.38 against the US dollar

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