MUMBAI — Despite global uncertainties, the Indian stock market performed
strongly in April as the Sensex rose by 3.65 per cent, while the Nifty gained
3.46 per cent during the month.
Banking stocks led the rally, with the Nifty Bank index
jumping 6.83 per cent in April. Other sectors like auto, PSU banks, financial
services, FMCG, and realty also performed well, each delivering over 4 per cent
returns.
Midcap stocks outperformed large caps last month. The
Nifty Midcap 100 index rose by 4.75 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100
index gave a return of 2.19 per cent.
Among the top gainers on the Nifty in April were IndusInd
Bank, which surged 29 per cent, followed by Tata Consumer Products (16.4 per
cent), Eternal (Zomato) (15.3 per cent), SBI Life Insurance (14.1 per cent),
and Titan (10.3 per cent).
On the other hand, the major losers included Tata Steel,
which fell 9.2 per cent, Hindalco (8.5 per cent), Wipro (7.9 per cent), Shriram
Finance (6.8 per cent), and Infosys (4.5 per cent).
On Wednesday, the market ended almost flat amid global
volatility and rising tensions between India and Pakistan.
The Sensex closed 46 points lower at 80,242, while the
Nifty slipped slightly by 1.75 points to end at 24,334.
Investors on Wednesday showed caution ahead of the
trading holiday on Thursday (May 1) for Maharashtra Day, leading to subdued
trading activity.
April was the second-consecutive month of positive inflow
from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in the equity cash segment. FIIs
invested Rs 2,735.02 crore in April, up from Rs 2,014.18 crore in March.
Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also continued
their buying spree, investing Rs 28,228.45 crore in April. However, this was
slightly lower than their March investment of Rs 37,585.68 crore.
