Bulls take over as Nifty, Sensex log 5-day winning run; best weekly show in four years

Gainers outnumbered laggards in trade.

Benchmark indices the Sensex and Nifty ended the session on March 21 on an upbeat note, logging in a five-day winning streak. A stronger rupee, abating FII selling and recovery in information technology stocks from day's lows bolstered sentiment.

With the uptick in trade, the Nifty 50 also managed to briefly move past the 23,400-mark for the first time in two months, a move that market experts were largely anticipating. The turnaround for Indian equities seen in the past week was also triggered by changing sentiment among foreign institutional investors turned net buyers in two out of the past three sessions, after a month of relentless selling.

At close, the Sensex was up 557.45 points or 0.73 percent at 76,905.51, while the Nifty gained 159.75 points or 0.69 percent to trade at 23,350.40. Market breadth remained positive, with 2,684 stocks advancing, 1,179 declining, and 118 remaining unchanged. For the week, the Nifty 50 and Sensex jumped a little over 4 percent each, its best week in four years.

"The primary driver of the rally has been FII buying in the cash market over the past two sessions, alongside a notable reduction in their short positions and an increase in long positions in the futures market. This shift appears to have instilled confidence among retail investors, leading to renewed buying in the broader market. The result is a smart rebound in mid and smallcap indices," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Adding to the positive sentiment, the Indian rupee logged its eighth consecutive session of gains, further easing pressure on equity inflows. In addition to that, the reasonable valuation of large-cap stocks after the market downturn have also strengthened its case among the investor class.

"Currently, we are witnessing a relief or pull-back rally that could last up to 23,300-23,500 levels, with large-caps trading at attractive valuations," Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities said.

The broader markets also garnered strong buying from retail investors, which lifted the Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices 1-2 percent higher, outperforming their large-cap peers. The midcap index has also been up for five straight sessions, clocking in a massive 8 percent upmove.

Across the broader market, 11 out of 13 major sectoral indices ended in positive territory. Nifty Realty led the gains, rallying over 2 percent, while Nifty Energy, Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Infra, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Media, and Nifty PSU Bank each rose between 1-2 percent.

Names like SBI Life Insurance, NTPC, ONGC, Bajaj Finance and BPCL were the top gainers on the Nifty, up around 3 percent each. On the flipside, Trent, M&M, Wipro, Hindalco and Infosys fell 1-2 percent to emerge as the worst hit on the blue-chip index.

Follow our LIVE blog for all the latest market updates

Among specific stocks, Bajaj Finance soared to a record high after Managing Director Rajeev Jain was appointed to the board of Bajaj Finserv in an executive role. While Jain will continue to oversee Bajaj Finance, he will also play a key role in the group's expansion into newer sectors, including healthcare, while supporting the transition within its insurance businesses. Bajaj Finserv, the promoter of Bajaj Finance, holds a 54 percent stake in the Rs 3.25 lakh crore lending firm.

Meanwhile, information technology stocks came under pressure following Accenture’s lower-than-expected revenue guidance. As a bellwether for Indian IT firms, Accenture’s earnings report is closely watched for insights into the sector’s performance. Given that Indian tech firms rely heavily on service exports, Accenture’s outlook serves as a critical indicator for the industry’s global prospects.

From a technical perspective, expectations of a sustained bullish momentum were reinforced as the Nifty 50 broke above its 50-day exponential moving average (EMA) in the previous session.

Sameet Chavan, Head of Research (Technical and Derivatives) at Angel One, sees immediate resistance at the 89-EMA zone of 23,300–23,400, followed by the previous high of 23,800 as the next key hurdle. On the downside, 23,000 serves as immediate support, aligning with the 50-day EMA, while a stronger support base lies at 22,800.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.