Sensex, Nifty hit 52-week highs amid strong institutional buying
Equity indices rally on banking gains, Reliance support, and renewed FII interest; both Sensex and Nifty now within 2 per cent of record highs
 "Sensex, Nifty hit 52-week highs amid strong institutional buying")
Indian equity benchmarks climbed to their highest levels in a year on Friday, lifted by gains in banking heavyweights and Reliance Industries, as strong institutional buying and expectations of a possible Reserve Bank of India rate cut boosted sentiment.
The Sensex ended the session at 83,952, up 484 points (0.6 per cent), while the Nifty 50 index settled at 25,710, 125 points (0.5 per cent) higher. Both indices hit 52-week high during the day, marking their third straight week of gains. Sensex advanced 1.8 per cent and Nifty jumped 1.7 per cent this week.
Sensex was 2.2 per cent shy of its all-time high, and Nifty was 1.9 per cent below its record peak on Friday.
Despite the upbeat market tone, the BSE’s total market capitalisation softened marginally by ₹3,000 crore to ₹467 trillion, though investor wealth grew by ₹4.85 trillion during the week.
Analysts attributed the rally to sustained domestic institutional investor (DII) inflows and renewed buying interest from foreign investors.
“The latest revival is largely on the back of DII buying. Even foreign investors have paused their selling spree and turned into marginal buyers. There’s optimism that December-quarter results could improve over the September quarter, aided by GST-related benefits and margin recovery in select companies,” said G. Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics.
Among major movers, ICICI Bank gained 1.4 per cent and HDFC Bank rose 0.8 per cent, ahead of their quarterly results, while Reliance Industries supported the rally.
Market breadth, however, remained weak, with 2,527 stocks declining and 1,641 advancing on the BSE.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net buyers of equities worth ₹309 crore, while domestic institutions also bought shares worth ₹1,527 crore. FPIs turned net buyers in October, purchasing shares worth ₹6,480 crore so far, after selling the previous three months.