Stocks in India Hit 6-week High

India’s BSE Sensex staged a strong rally to close about 1.7% firmer at 75,693 on Monday, its highest since September 7, buoyed by strong corporate results, cooling oil prices and improving foreign investor activity. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth 35.99 billion rupees on Friday, extending their buying streak to six sessions in the past 10 trading days. Hopes of tax relief on equity investments also lent support to market sentiment, following reports of proposed changes to India's long-term capital gains tax regime. Heavyweight Reliance Industries topped the gainers, surging 11.6% to post its strongest single-day gain since April 2020, after reporting a better-than-expected 40.6% jump in September-quarter net profit. Bahrat Electronics advanced 1.9% after reportinga 20% rise in Q2 consolidated net profit. Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki India gained 2.2%, on the back of robust October sales figures across the automobile sector. Conversely, tech stocks lagged.

The SENSEX Index rose 949 points or 1.27 percent on Monday to close at 75409 points. Leading the gains are Reliance Industries (11.60%), Tata Steel (5.26%) and UltraTech Cement (2.57%).

India’s BSE Sensex rose about 1.2% to 75,323 on Monday, extending its gains to a third straight session and reaching its highest level since mid-September, as easing crude oil prices, foreign investor buying and strong corporate earnings boosted sentiment. Brent crude fell to around $111 a barrel from a six-month high of $118, easing concerns over imported inflation. Corporate earnings also supported sentiment, with Reliance Industries shares surging to a nine-month high after reporting a 40.6% jump in quarterly net profit, while Jio Platforms' profit rose 13.7%. Bharat Electronics also reported a 19.7% increase in net profit and 26.5% revenue growth, with its order book standing at 68,717 crore rupees. Notable gainers included Reliance (6.6%), Bharti Airtel (0.9%), Jio Platforms (1.0%) and Welspun Living (7.0%). Meanwhile, investors will also monitor the final HSBC Manufacturing PMI for October, due later in the day, with the reading forecast at 54.8, compared with 55.1 previously.