SENSEX surges over 1,000 points, NIFTY50 firm above 24,300; here are key factors driving the rally

The Indian equity benchmarks were trading on a strong note on Monday, April 28, led by gains in index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Larsen & Toubro. The SENSEX rose as much as 1,092.50 points to hit an intraday high of 80,305 and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,352. As of 12;35 pm, the SENSEX was up 1,065 points at 80,277.50 and NIFTY50 index climbed 302 points to 24,342.

Boost from Reliance Industries

Reliance Industries was biggest contributor towards gain in the SENSEX. Shares of the country's most valuable company rose as much as 4.81% to hit an intraday high of ₹1,363 after it reported stronger than expected March quarter earnings post market hours on Friday.

Gain in Reliance Industries shares alone added nearly 300 points towards gain in the SENSEX, data from BSE showed.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Industries on Friday, April 25, reported a net profit of ₹19,407 crore for the January-March quarter (Q4FY25), marking an increase of 2.41% from ₹18,951 crore logged in the same period last year.

Its revenue from operations advanced 10% to ₹2,64,573 crore at the end of the March quarter, as against ₹2,40,715 crore reported in the year-ago period.

Operationally, Reliance Industries' operating profit, also known as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), rose 3.1% to ₹43,832 crore from ₹ 42,516 crore in the corresponding period last year. Its operating profit margin, also known as EBITDA margin, shrank by 110 basis points (bps) to 16.57% from 17.66%.

The board of directors of the company has recommended a dividend of ₹5.5 per share for the financial year 2024-25.

Strong Q4 earnings

Earnings from most of the companies in NIFTY50 index have so far been largely in line with estimates or surpassed them, analysts said which is leading to Indian equities outperforming their large peers. Last week, Reliance Industries posted steady earnings in March quarter that came after the country's top two lenders - HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank surprised investors by posting strong numbers in Q4FY25.

According to an Economic Times report, for a common sample of 184 companies which have declared numbers for the 13 quarters to March 2025, revenue grew by 8.3% while net profit rose by 10.2%. The operating margin contracted by 220 basis points year-on-year to 20.6%.

Strong FII inflows

The up move in market is also getting support from foreign inflows as foreign institutional investors (FII) purchased Indian shares for eighth straight session on Friday, data from stock exchanges showed. They have so far, in eight trading sessions, bought shares worth ₹32,466 crore. The buying interest by FIIs comes after relentless selling by them starting October last year.

NIFTY50 gainers and losers

Reliance Industries was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 4.2% to ₹1,355. Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, JSW Steel, ICICI Bank, Cipla and NTPC were also among the gainers.

On the flipside, Shriram Finance fell nearly 7% after reporting weak earnings in March quarter. Eternal, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Bajaj Finance and Wipro were also among the losers.

Sectoral picture

Buying was visible across board as all the major sector gauges, barring the measure of IT stocks, were trading higher led by the NIFTY Oil & Gas index's over 2% gain. Metal, pharma, PSU bank and bank shares were also witnessing strong buying interest.

Mid- and small-cap shares were also witnessing buying interest as NIFTY Midcap 100 index rose 0.81% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index rose 0.64%.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,906 shares were advancing while 1,657 were declining on the BSE.