Indian equity benchmarks surged on Monday, with the BSE Sensex crossing the 80,000 level, driven by positive reactions to state election outcomes and expectations of increased government spending.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 80,109.85, registering a gain of 992.74 points or 1.25 per cent. The broader NSE Nifty 50 advanced 314.65 points or 1.32 per cent to end at 24,221.90.

The market breadth remained positive with 2,699 stocks advancing and 1,350 declining on the BSE. A total of 206 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 55 touched their 52-week lows. The session saw 446 stocks hitting the upper circuit, and 283 touching their lower circuit limits.

ONGC emerged as the top gainer among Nifty constituents, surging 5.48 per cent, followed by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) at 4.33 per cent, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at 4.26 per cent, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) at 4.01 per cent, and Shriram Finance at 3.78 per cent.

On the flip side, JSW Steel led the losers, declining 2.32 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra (-0.71 per cent), Infosys (-0.59 per cent), Maruti (-0.55 per cent), and Bajaj Auto (-0.39 per cent).

The broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap Select index rising 2.19 per cent to 12,576.40. The banking sector showed strength as the Nifty Bank index climbed 2.10 per cent to 52,207.50, while Nifty Financial Services gained 1.84 per cent to close at 24,058.70.

“Major state election results lifted market sentiment and increased the scope of stability in government spending in H2FY25 to meet the capex target,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. “The rally was broad-based, while capex-linked sectors such as infrastructure, capital goods, and industrials outperformed in expectation of a surge in new order inflows.”

In a significant development, food delivery platform Zomato is set to enter the BSE Sensex index, replacing JSW Steel. The stock surged during the session and closed 3.50 per cent higher, making it the first new-age tech stock to join the 30-share benchmark index.

The market also anticipates significant foreign institutional investor (FII) activity, with expectations of approximately $2.5 billion in passive flows due to a quarterly rejig in the MSCI indices. HDFC Bank, which is expected to see an increase in its index weightage, gained 2.29 per cent.

Public sector banks emerged as the top-performing sector, with the PSU Bank index surging over 4 per cent. The realty sector also showed strength, advancing 2.21 per cent.

“The prospects of H2 remain positive due to a good monsoon, festivals, and marriage season, could ease the impact of earnings downgrades that happened in Q2,” Nair added.

Looking ahead, market analysts suggest a consolidation phase might be in store. “The intraday market texture is bullish, but due to temporary overbought conditions we could see range-bound activity in the near future,” noted Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, identifying 24,000-24,100 as key support levels and 24,400-24,500 as crucial resistance areas.

The India VIX, which measures market volatility, declined by 5.09 per cent to 15.28, indicating reduced market anxiety.

Published on November 25, 2024