Sensex, Nifty surge as investor sentiments improve

Bengaluru: Dispelling gloom for investors, benchmarks Sensex and Nifty shot up 1.53% and 1.45% respectively on Tuesday, powered by widespread buying amid bullish global market sentiments.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee jumped to its highest level in over three weeks, boosted by persistent weakness in the dollar. The rupee rose to a peak of 86.54 against the dollar on Tuesday, its highest since February 21, before closing at 86.57.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,131.31 points to settle above the 75,000 mark. Intra-day, it rose 1.63% to peak at 75,385.76. The Tuesday rally alone made Sensex investors richer by Rs 7 lakh crore. The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 325.55 points to 22,834.30.

"The national benchmarks witnessed a strong recovery, driven by favourable global trends and domestic tail winds. Improved retail sales data from the US and China boosted investor confidence, while mid- and small-cap stocks outperformed, with all major sectors registering gains,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. 

Nair said that the anticipated rebound in domestic earnings, along with a recent decline in the dollar index and lower crude prices, is expected to support this recovery. “However, continued FII outflows, driven by higher risk-free rates and the appeal of markets like China—along with tariff uncertainties, keep investors cautious during this phase," he added.

"The markets decisively broke out of a week-long consolidation, surging nearly 1.5% and reinforcing the recovery momentum. Looking ahead, the alignment between the benchmark index and banking majors supports further recovery. However, global factors such as the Federal Reserve meeting and geopolitical uncertainties may introduce intermittent volatility,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

In the Sensex pack, Zomato emerged as the biggest gainer with over 7% jump, followed by ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints and Titan, among others. The BSE small-cap gauge soared 2.73%, and the midcap index jumped 2.10%

Meanwhile, the rupee was boosted by likely dollar inflows, even as the US currency fell to near a five-month low against major peer currencies.

At least three large foreign banks sold dollars, helping lift the rupee, as per news agency Reuters. Bids by state-run banks, however, kept a lid on further gains.

"With investment sentiment improving in India, rupee strength is likely to sustain unless external factors such as US data or Fed policy shift market dynamics. The rupee range has now shifted higher to 86.25-86.90, reflecting the current momentum and capital flow trends,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities. 

The rupee has strengthened for four consecutive sessions and is up about 0.8% so far this month, aided by a broadly weaker greenback, an uptick in exporter dollar sales and modest inflows.

NEW DELHI: RUPEE VS DOLLAR. PTI GRAPHICS. (PTI03_18_2025_001010001B)