Stock Market Today 28 April - Sensex Surges 1.27%, Nifty Reclaims 24,300; Reliance Jumps 5% Post Results, FIIs Buy Big

The Indian stock market staged a powerful comeback on Monday, snapping a two-day losing streak with significant gains. Bulls returned with force, shrugging off lingering geopolitical concerns between India and Pakistan following last week's terror attack in Kashmir. Investor focus shifted decisively towards strong corporate earnings, particularly from index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL), and continued robust inflows from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).  

The benchmark indices reclaimed key psychological levels. The BSE Sensex zoomed over 1,000 points during the session, closing firmly above the 80,000 mark. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 rallied convincingly past the 24,300 level. The Nifty 50 traded within a range of 24,054.05 to 24,355.10 during the day before settling near its high point.  

Despite the backdrop of regional tensions that typically dampen market sentiment, this strong performance underscores the market's current resilience. The ability to look past these headwinds suggests that domestic factors, such as positive earnings surprises and strong foreign fund flows, are currently the dominant drivers of market direction.  

Index Performance:

• The Sensex closed at 80,218.37, up by 1,005.84 points or 1.27%.

• The Nifty 50 closed at 24,328.50, rising by 289.15 points or 1.20%.

Top Gainers & Losers: Reliance Leads the Charge

Monday's rally was significantly powered by index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL). The conglomerate's shares surged nearly 5% following the announcement of better-than-expected Q4 FY25 results after market hours on Friday.

This impressive jump added approximately ₹1 lakh crore to RIL's market capitalisation during intraday trading. It contributed 400 points to the Sensex gain alone, highlighting the stock's substantial influence on the benchmark index. Strong performance in its retail and digital segments drove the positive results.  

Alongside RIL, buying interest was seen in pharmaceutical and metal stocks. Other major contributors to the Sensex rally included banking giants like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and SBI.  

Nifty 50 Top Gainers:

On the losing side, Shriram Finance faced significant pressure, declining over 5%, reportedly due to concerns about missing credit cost estimates. Technology stocks like HCL Tech and select cement and FMCG names also lagged.  

Nifty 50 Top Losers:

The outsized contribution of RIL to the day's index gains is noteworthy. While the rally saw broad participation, the sheer weight of RIL means its individual performance significantly amplified the headline index movement.  

Sectoral Spotlight: Oil & Gas Shines, IT Lags

Sectoral performance was largely positive, reflecting the broad-based buying interest. The Nifty Oil & Gas index emerged as the top gainer, surging over 3%, primarily driven by the stellar performance of Reliance Industries post its Q4 results.  

PSU Banks also continued their strong run, with the Nifty PSU Bank index climbing nearly 2.5%, indicating sustained investor confidence in public-sector lenders. Pharma stocks attracted buying interest as well, with the Nifty Pharma index gaining close to 2%. The Nifty Bank index also outperformed the benchmark, rising 1.37%, buoyed by gains in both private and public-sector banks.  

However, the Nifty IT index bucked the trend, ending marginally lower. This divergence is notable, especially after the IT sector's strong 7% rally last week and positive cues from US tech markets on Friday.

The muted performance could suggest profit-taking after the recent run-up, potential sector rotation by investors towards energy and banking stocks with strong positive news flow today, or perhaps lingering caution regarding the IT sector's growth outlook and valuations despite recent earnings.  

Sectoral Index Performance (NSE Closing % Change):

• Nifty Oil & Gas: +3.18%  
• Nifty PSU Bank: +2.44%  
• Nifty Pharma: +1.98%  
• Nifty Auto: +1.63%  
• Nifty Bank: +1.37%  
• Nifty Metal: +1.40%  
• Nifty Realty: +0.69%  
• Nifty FMCG: +0.09%  
• Nifty IT: -0.22%  

Market Movers: RIL Results, FII Flows Drive Sentiment

Several factors converged to fuel Monday's market rally:

1. Reliance Industries' Earnings: Better-than-expected Q4 FY25 results from RIL acted as a major catalyst, directly lifting the indices and boosting overall market sentiment.  
    
2. Sustained FII Buying: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their recent buying spree, providing crucial support to the market. Over the eight trading sessions leading up to Friday, FIIs had pumped a massive ₹32,465 crore into Indian equities. This marks a significant turnaround from their earlier selling stance. Provisional data for April 28th indicates FIIs were net buyers, although final figures are awaited.
   
   For context, on Friday, April 25th, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of ₹2,952.33 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also showed strong buying interest, netting purchases worth ₹3,539.85 crore. This consistent foreign buying is partly attributed to the relative underperformance of US assets and a weakening US dollar, making emerging markets like India more attractive.  
    
3. Global Cues: Positive sentiment in most Asian markets provided a supportive backdrop. While the Shanghai Composite closed slightly lower (-0.2%), Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended nearly unchanged.  
    
4. Easing Crude Prices: A decline in crude oil prices also offered some relief, easing concerns about inflation for the oil-importing Indian economy.  
    
5. Geopolitical Situation: While tensions between India and Pakistan remain a potential headwind, the market largely overlooked these concerns during Monday's session, focusing instead on domestic positives. However, analysts continue to advise caution, noting that the market may not have fully priced in the potential impact of any escalation.  
    
6. IPO Activity: The Ather Energy IPO opened for subscription today.  

The market's ability to rally strongly despite acknowledged geopolitical risks and mixed global signals demonstrates the current strength of domestic catalysts. The positive surprise from RIL's earnings and the powerful FII buying trend overshadowed external factors for the day. Nevertheless, the consistent warnings from market experts suggest this disregard for external risks might be temporary, warranting continued vigilance.  

Broader Market View: Midcaps, Smallcaps Join the Rally

The positive momentum wasn't confined to the benchmark indices. The broader market also participated robustly, with both midcap and smallcap indices snapping their two-day losing streaks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index surged 1.62%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed 0.78% higher, indicating buying interest extended beyond large-cap names.  

Market breadth was positive, confirming broader participation. On the NSE, 1,532 stocks advanced compared to 1,375 stocks that declined, with 85 remaining unchanged. This contrasts slightly with the BSE, where advancers (1,961-1,964) and decliners (1,909-2,034) were more evenly matched according to different sources.  

The India VIX, a measure of expected market volatility, cooled off slightly, closing down 1.26% at 16.94.  

The positive market breadth and gains in the broader market indices suggest a healthy rally with underlying bullish sentiment. However, the VIX remaining near the 17 mark indicates that despite the day's substantial gains, a degree of caution persists among traders, likely reflecting the unresolved geopolitical situation and the ongoing corporate earnings season.