Leader Online Desk: Stock markets continued to rally on Monday (April 29) on the back of strong global cues and buying in banking stocks. Sensex rose 941 points to close at 74,671. While the Nifty rose by 223 points to close at 22,643. All other sectoral indices except realty, healthcare, metals, power, banks and oil and gas rose 0.4-2 percent. BSE Midcap gained 0.7 percent. Smallcap closed flat. (Stock Market Closing Bell)
'This' shares top gainers
ICICI Bank (ICICI Bank Share Price), SBI, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Ultratech Cement, Kotak Bank, NTPC, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance were the top gainers on Sensex. Meanwhile, shares of HCL Tech fell more than 5 percent to become the top loser. Shares of Wipro, ITC saw a minor decline.
ICICI Bank's market capitalization is Rs 8 lakh crore
Private sector ICICI Bank's market capitalization has crossed Rs 8 lakh crore. ICICI Bank has become the fifth Bharti company and the second Bharti bank to achieve such a feat. ICICI shares rose 4 percent today on better-than-expected quarterly revenue. So far, Reliance Industries, TCS, HDFC Bank, Infosys and Bharti Airtel have crossed the 8 lakh crore market cap mark.
Shares of Apollo Hospitals fellShares of ICICI Bank rose over 4 percent to Rs 1,161 on the Nifty. Along with this, the shares of SBI, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Ultratech Cement also remained bullish. Meanwhile, shares of Apollo Hospitals fell to Rs 5,733 on the NSE today. Later, the stock fell 4 percent to Rs 5,978 in afternoon trade. (Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Share Price) Shares of HCL Tech fell by more than 5 percent. Shares of HDFC Life, Bajaj Auto, LTIMindtree also fell.
Banking shares soar
Nifty Bank today rose by as much as 1,223 points to hit a new high of 49,424. Other than IDFC First Bank, Bandhan Bank, remaining 10 stocks in Nifty Bank traded in green. On Nifty Bank, ICICI Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank gained between 2-5 percent. Shares of IDFC First Bank fell 4 percent. The PSU Bank Index also rose by 2 percent. Indian Bank, PSB, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank were the top gainers on PSU Bank Index.
Global market excitement
The major indices of the US market closed higher on Friday. Nasdaq Composite, S&P, Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher. The Asian market also remained bullish. Japan's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and China's Shanghai Composite index rose today.
Fall in crude oil prices
A fall in crude oil prices also supported the rally in the stock market. Crude oil prices fell due to geopolitical tensions following Iran's missile attack on Israel earlier this month. US WTI crude oil contracts were down 0.9 percent at $83.030 a barrel.
Signs of easing of Israel-Hamas tensions
Israel-Hamas peace talks in Cairo, Egypt, have somewhat eased concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East. As a result the demand for risk assets such as equity has increased.
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