Indian Stock Market Rallies, Closes in Green Amidst FII Sell-off

The Indian stock market ended with gains for the second consecutive day, as Nifty and Sensex closed higher despite initial flat trading. Major sectors including banks and financial services boosted the market, while FIIs continued their sell-off. Strong domestic inflows helped counterbalance the outflow.

The Indian stock market marked a positive close for the second straight day, overcoming earlier flat trading sessions. This recovery followed a challenging last week where the markets fell due to weak earnings reports and persistent selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).

On Tuesday, the Nifty index at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) climbed to 24,466.85, gaining about 127 points, while the BSE Sensex closed at 80,369.03 points, up by 363.99 points. Market gainers on the NSE included State Bank of India, Bharat Electronics Limited, Eicher Motors, HDFC Life, and SBI Life. Conversely, major decliners were Maruti, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and Sun Pharma.

Sector-wise, the bank, financial services, media, metal, PSU banks, private banks, realty, consumer durables, and oil and gas indices thrived, whereas Auto, FMCG, IT, Pharma, and Healthcare sectors underperformed, closing in the red. Notably, Ola Electric shares dipped below their initial public offering price, settling at Rs 76.64, a 1.22% decline.

Market expert Vikram Kasat from PL Capital remarked, "Markets bounced back in the latter half of the trading session, contributing to the festive cheer. Both private and PSU banks, alongside financial services stocks, were at the forefront of this rally, recording over 2% growth. Meanwhile, profit booking in pharma and auto sectors led to their decline."

V. K. Vijayakumar of Geojit Financial Services noted the continued yet diminishing impact of FII sell-off. "Despite FIIs withdrawing approximately Rs 1.03 lakh crore from Indian equities in October, the market remains robust due to substantial domestic institutional investments totaling Rs 98,491 crore," he explained.

(With inputs from agencies.)