From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty surged more than 1% on Monday (March 24, 2025) amid fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in banking and oil & gas shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,078.87 points or 1.40% to settle at over six-week high of 77,984.38. During the day, it zoomed 1,201.72 points or 1.56% to 78,107.23.

The NSE Nifty surged by 307.95 points or 1.32% to 23,658.35. Intra-day, the benchmark zoomed 358.35 points or 1.53% to 23,708.75. “A positive trend in the U.S. and European markets powered the rally in domestic equities,” experts said.

From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers.

Titan, IndusInd Bank, Zomato, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Nestle and Infosys were the laggards. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹7,470.36 crore on Friday (March 21, 2025), according to exchange data.

“Short covering ahead of monthly F&O expiry later this week fuelled the rally as the Sensex breached the psychological 78k mark intra-day on across-the-board buying. Renewed optimism by foreign investors coupled with the strong U.S. and European market cues further bolstered the sentiment,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior V-P (Research), Mehta Equities Limited, said.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher while Seoul and Tokyo ended lower. European markets were trading in positive territory. The U.S. markets ended in green on Friday (March 21, 2025.) Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.07% to $72.21 a barrel.

In the six-day rally to Monday (March 24, 2025), Sensex has zoomed more than 4,100 points or 5% as FII selling eased. Broader Nifty has climbed 1,260 points or 5.5% since March 17.