India’s key stock indexes closed higher on Thursday, boosted by robust gains in state-owned enterprises and anticipation of more government expenditure in the impending Union Budget. The optimism in public-sector stocks outweighed falls in IT stocks and Tata Motors.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.37% to 23,249.5, while the BSE Sensex advanced 0.3% to 76,759.81. Despite the current rebound, the Nifty is still 11.5% down from its record high on September 27.
Analysts believe the latest rally is underpinned by “attractive valuations” in large-cap companies after a market correction, making them a safer long-term investment, according to Gaurav Bhandari, CEO of Monarch Networth Capital.
Nine of the thirteen major sectors finished the session in positive territory. State-owned firms expanded by roughly 2%, boosted by anticipation of increasing public sector investment in infrastructure. Reliance Industries, the second-heaviest stock on the index, rose 1.4%.
Meanwhile, IT stocks fell 1.1% after rising 2.6% in the previous session. Tata Motors fell 7.4% after reporting lower-than-expected quarterly profits, while Adani Enterprises fell 3% due to a steep profit reduction in its coal trading section.
However, Bajaj Finance climbed 2.1% due to strong loan growth.
