Only five stocks—ICICI Bank Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries Ltd, and Bharti Airtel Ltd—contributed over 75 percent to the 1,000-point rally that pushed Nifty to a new record high of over 23,000 on May 24, up from 22,000 in January.
Nifty, the 50-share benchmark index, broke the psychological 23,000 mark during early morning trading on Friday, achieving a 1,000-point gain in 88 trading sessions since reaching 22,000 on January 15.
ICICI Bank led the contributors, accounting for over 17.3 percent of the index’s rise, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra and State Bank of India, each contributing over 16 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Reliance Industries Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd each added 15 percent and 14 percent to the index’s gain.
On the downside, HDFC Bank dragged the index down by 19 percent, with Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints each reducing it by 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
During these 88 sessions, ICICI Bank surged over 14 percent, M&M advanced 60 percent, SBI gained 36 percent, RIL increased 9 percent, and Bharti Airtel jumped 30 percent. Conversely, HDFC Bank lost around 8 percent, while Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints each dropped over 11 percent. Despite foreign investors selling shares worth over $3 billion since the year’s start, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have driven market gains in the past two months.
Ajay Bagga, an independent market expert, noted that continued foreign institutional investor (FII) buying could lead to intriguing market developments.
“As we approach the election results, with five phases completed and 429 seats voted on, parties, corporates, and institutional investors are looking to private pollsters for voting trends after each phase. However, this picture is clouded by numerous false narratives on social media. With 115 seats left to be voted on May 25 and June 1, the market is eagerly awaiting clarity, with 13 days to results and 10 days to exit polls,” Bagga added.
On May 23, the Indian markets soared to a new high, with Sensex surging over 1,000 points and Nifty closing near the 23,000 mark after the RBI announced a special dividend of over Rs 2 lakh crore. Investors are now keenly awaiting GDP numbers for the March quarter, set for release on May 31, and the exit polls on June 1. The results of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 are scheduled for June 4.