ITC Surges Over 5% After Positive Brokerage Note, Fuels Nifty Gains

ITC surged more than 5% on a bullish brokerage note, lifting the Nifty 134 points higher to 22,556. The rally was driven by a 3% gain from ICICI Bank and a 2.7% rise in Reliance Industries, while the Sensex climbed 473 points to 72,383.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers, offloading ₹4,699.14 crore on Monday— a sharp drop from the ₹9,484.22 crore sold on October 1. Domestic institutional investors, however, bought ₹5,181.62 crore, offsetting the sell‑off.

HDFC Bank fell 2.1% after the appointment of its new MD and CEO, and ITC topped the gains with over 5% lift. The Nifty Bank index climbed 263 points to 54,714, while the Nifty Midcap surged 392 points to 59,124.

Market breadth remained thin, with the advance‑decline ratio holding at 1:1. Despite the gains, the day’s volatility was high, as DMART slumped 6.5% following a weaker second‑quarter update.

Over the past four sessions, FIIs have sold a total of ₹34,966 crore, while DIIs have purchased ₹33,455 crore—a near‑balance that could signal a stabilizing trend. Traders now await the next earnings cycle to gauge whether the domestic inflows will sustain the rally.