RIL helps Sensex end higher by 1,006 pts; Oil, banks, pharma shine; IT dips

Stock market closing bell, Monday, April 28, 2025: The benchmark Indian equity indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50, recouped from the losses incurred during the last two days of the previous week, which stemmed from the border tensions, and ended higher buoyed by buying across the counters, led by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL). 

 

Among the broader basket, midcap shares outperformed the blue chips and settled higher, while smallcaps also posted gains. Meanwhile, oil and gas stocks stole the show and emerged as the top performers among the sectoral front, led by Reliance and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), fueled by optimism after RIL posted its fourth-quarter FY25 results. This was closely followed by banking and healthcare stocks.

 

On Monday, the BSE Sensex climbed 1,005.84 points, or 1.27 per cent, to settle at 80,218.37, and the NSE Nifty50 surged 289.15 points, or 1.2 per cent, to settle at 24,328.50. Notably, the index heavyweight, RIL, ended with gains of 5.07 per cent.  Among others, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel, Bharat Electronics, and Dr Reddy’s Labs were the top gainers of the Nifty50 constituents, ending higher by between 2.35 per cent and 3.07 per cent. Sriram Finance, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, HDFC, Hindustan Unilever, and Nestlé India were among the 11 Nifty50 constituent stocks that ended lower by up to 5.13 per cent.

 

Among the broader indices, the Nifty MidCap100 and Nifty SmallCap100 indices ended higher by 1.62 per cent and 0.78 per cent, respectively. Garden Reach Shipbuilders (8.11 per cent), Sonata Software (7.13 per cent), Kaynes Technology (6.53 per cent), Data Patterns (6.39 per cent), Cochin Shipyard (6.10 per cent), Bharat Dynamics (5.42 per cent) were the top performers among the midcap space.

Oil & Gas, Banks shines 

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Oil & Gas was the top performer, ending higher by 3.18 per cent, led by RIL (5.07 per cent) and BPCL (4.97 per cent). Notably, barring Gujarat State Petronet, all other 14 constituent stocks of the index ended higher on Monday. This was followed by the banking indices - Nifty PSU Bank (2.44 per cent), Bank Nifty (1.41 per cent), and Nifty Private Bank (1.40 per cent).

 

Among others, the Nifty Healthcare index ended higher by 2.07 per cent, led by Lupin and Glenmark Pharma, which ended higher by nearly 4 per cent each. Nifty IT was the only sectoral index on the NSE that ended in the red, down 0.22 per cent, dragged by Mphasis and HCL Tech. 

Cautious optimism in volatile times 

Sustained buying from FIIs and better results from RIL, Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, said, have boosted investor sentiment at Dalal Street. A weakening dollar and inflationary pressure in the US, Nair said, may attract FIIs into the domestic market.  "However, investors are advised to exercise caution in the near term as the market is yet to discount the impact of retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. For a new investor, holding a position in cash and debt of about 40 per cent with a bottom-up approach on equity based on the earnings outcome will be a beneficial strategy," said Nair.  Meanwhile, Ajit Mishra – SVP, research, Religare Broking, believes that the absence of any major geopolitical developments between India and Pakistan over the weekend, along with stability in global markets, eased pressure and triggered an upbeat start. 

 

"This buoyancy is certainly encouraging; however, participants should maintain a positive yet cautious bias, given the lingering geopolitical tensions," said Mishra. Amidst all this, Mishra advises that the focus should remain on sectors and themes showing consistent outperformance, with an aim to accumulate quality counters on any intermediate dips.

Technicals indicate short-term bull run

Technically, after a promising opening, the market maintained positive momentum throughout the day. Additionally, it formed a long bullish candle on the daily charts, which, according to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities, supports a further uptrend from current levels. Chouhan believes that the short-term market trend is still bullish, but buying on intraday dips and selling on rallies would be the ideal strategy for day traders.

 

"On the downside, 24,200/79,800 and 24,100/79,500 would act as key support zones, while 24,400-24,500/80,500-80,700 could serve as crucial resistance areas for the bulls. However, if the market falls below 24,100/79,500, the uptrend would become vulnerable," said Chouhan.