A strong rally in metal stocks propelled India’s key indices to close higher for the third day running, buoyed by favorable Economic Survey data. Sensex gained 221.69 points or 0.27% to end at 82,566.37, with Nifty adding 76.15 points or 0.30% at 25,418.90.
The survey’s promising growth outlook for the economy acted as a significant tailwind, encouraging buying across select sectors. Nifty Metal led with a sharp 3.07% rise, while energy (1.87%), commodities (1.58%), private banks (1.03%), infra (0.85%), PSE (0.82%), and oil & gas (0.78%) also advanced.
Contrasting performances emerged in other areas, where Nifty Defence shed 1.21%, healthcare 0.96%, FMCG 0.91%, pharma 0.81%, PSU banks 0.79%, IT 0.76%, and auto 0.68%. Mid and smallcaps displayed greater strength than largecaps, closing at 58,541 (up 0.18%) and 16,825 (up 0.20%) respectively.
Sensex gainers featured Tata Steel, L&T, Axis Bank, Eternal, NTPC, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, SBI, HDFC Bank, and Bajaj Finserv. Decliners included Asian Paints, Indigo, Maruti Suzuki, BEL, M&M, TCS, Sun Pharma, HUL, Trent, Titan, ITC, and UltraTech Cement.
Market veterans credit the Economic Survey’s robust FY27 growth forecast for the bullish close. Rising US-Iran frictions have spiked precious metal prices, with gold at over 1.70 lakh rupees per 10 grams and silver above 4 lakh per kg on MCX, reflecting investor caution.