new Delhi: Major equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, extended gains for the second straight session on Monday, led by a surprise merger between HDFC and HDFC Bank, which lifted the market mood.
According to analysts, this will be the biggest merger in India’s corporate history.
Sensex and Nifty rose over 2.5 per cent intra-day to hit highs of 60,845 and 18,114, respectively.
Both the indices later posted some gains. The Sensex closed 1,335 points (2.25 per cent) higher at 60,612, while the broader NSE Nifty ended 383 points (2.17 per cent) higher at 18,053. HDFC Bank shares rose 10 per cent and HDFC shares rose 9 per cent.
The merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank is expected to be completed by the second or third quarter of FY24. Through the transformational merger, HDFC will acquire 41 per cent stake in HDFC Bank.
Other top gainers are Kotak Bank, HUL, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, L&T and Sun Pharma, up between 2 per cent and 3 per cent.
On the flipside, Infosys and Titan Company were the only losers, falling up to 1 per cent.
Midcap and smallcap stocks closed on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 1.63 per cent and Smallcap 1.62 per cent.
All the 15 sector gauges compiled by NSE ended in green. Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services outperformed the index with gains of 4 per cent and 4.67 per cent, respectively. Nifty IT index posted the weakest gains today, closing up just 0.2 per cent.
On Friday, the Sensex closed at 59,276 points, up 708 points (1.21 per cent). At the end of the day, the Nifty climbed 205 points (1.18 per cent) to close at 17,670.
Elsewhere in Asia, shares closed with gains in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading significantly higher in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.05 per cent to $103.29 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they bought shares worth Rs 1,909.78 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
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