Nifty touches 23,000 as India bucks Asian rout; Yes Bank, IDBI crash on rulings
Large-cap buying lifted benchmark indices, but falling midcaps, smallcaps and weak market breadth raised questions about the strength of the recovery
India's stock market enjoyed a sharp rally on Thursday, bucking a regional downturn as Asian markets faced losses. The BSE Sensex closed 1,533.72 points higher, or 2.11%, at 74,315.61, while the Nifty 50 rose 374.65 points, or 1.66%, closing above its 20-day exponential moving average for the first time since August. The Nifty briefly hit 23,056 intraday, before profit-taking trimmed gains.
Bank Nifty increased 494.50 points, or 0.89%, to 55,810.50. Large-cap stocks led the rally, with Tech Mahindra up 4.75%, ICICI Bank 3.80%, Bharti Airtel 3.98%, Reliance Industries 3.50%, and HCL Technologies 3.10%. However, the celebratory mood was tempered by the fact that advances outnumbered declines by only 1,343 to 2,218, according to Sarvam Goel, founder of Pocketful.
Yes Bank plunged 14.53% following the Supreme Court's affirmation of the Bombay High Court's decision to nullify the lender's ₹8,415 crore AT1 bond write-off, raising potential financial liabilities. IDBI Bank dropped over 7% after the government authorized its 60.72% stake sale to Fairfax Financial Holdings for ₹52,878 crore, a price well below the stock's prior close.
Canara Bank fell 6.12% as PSU banks declined 1.55% on concerns over AT1 bond risks. Nestlé India declined 7.76% following weaker-than-expected quarterly results. On the currency front, the rupee continued its five-day winning streak, appreciating 9 paise to 95.06 against the dollar. Brent crude dipped roughly 2.3% to around $103.6 per barrel, providing some relief.
MCX Gold increased 1.19% to ₹1,47,584, while MCX Silver rose 0.65%. SEBI's advisory panel reportedly backed the retention of the existing 30-minute VWAP method for derivatives expiry settlement, keeping the proposed CAS-linked formula on hold. With India's gross direct tax collections up 14.9% year-on-year to ₹16.03 lakh crore as of October 14, Jio Platforms' IPO, priced between ₹1,065 and ₹1,119 per share for a fresh issue up to ₹30,213 crore, is set to open on October 21, potentially becoming India's largest-ever public offering.
Analysts warn of geopolitical uncertainties, persistent foreign fund outflows, and the upcoming Q2 earnings as key drivers of near-term market direction.
Written by urgent.news from Hindu BusinessLine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
