Stock markets surge for 4th day; Sensex jumps over 411 points

Mumbai, Oct 20 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Monday, taking their winning run to the fourth day in a row, driven by buying in blue-chip Reliance Industries and sustained foreign fund inflows.

A sharp rally in global markets also added to the markets' optimism.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 411.18 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 84,363.37. During the day, it zoomed 704.37 points or 0.83 per cent to 84,656.56.

The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 133.30 points or 0.52 per cent to 25,843.15.

From the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries climbed 3.52 per cent after the firm on Friday reported a 9.6 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit for the September quarter, driven by strong performance in its consumer-facing retail and telecom businesses and a recovery in its core oil-to-chemicals segment.

Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and Bharti Airtel were also among the gainers.

However, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Adani Ports and Power Grid were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled higher.

Markets in Europe were trading in the green.

US markets ended in positive territory on Friday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 308.98 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth Rs 1,526.61 crore on the same day.

"The Indian market extended its upward march on Monday, carrying forward the festive rally ahead of the Diwali Muhurat trading session. The Nifty-50 climbed, driven by strong buying in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.29 per cent to USD 61.11 a barrel.

On Friday, the Sensex jumped 484.53 points or 0.58 per cent to settle at 83,952.19. The Nifty climbed 124.55 points or 0.49 per cent to 25,709.85.

Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,451.37 points or 1.75 per cent, and the Nifty surged 424.5 points or 1.67 per cent.

Stock exchanges BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Tuesday.

The symbolic trading session will be held between 1:45 pm and 2:45 pm. The market will remain closed for regular trading on Tuesday, but a special trading window will be open for one hour. PTI SUM SUM DR DR