Sensex, Nifty: Stock market cheers RIL Q4 results; ICICI, HDFC Bank shares gain big

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty climbed nearly 1 per cent each, thanks to a surge in shares of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) following better-than-expected Q4 results. While IT heavyweights such as TCS and Infosys declined, it was private lenders such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank that supported the stock indices, data showed. 
The BSE Sensex stood at 79,859.57, up 647.04 points or 0.82 per cent. The RIL stock alone contributed 223.83 points positively to the index gains.

"We re-rate the stock from ‘Buy’ to ‘Accumulate’ post run-up in stock with a target of Rs1,482 based on SoTP valuing the standalone business at 7.5 times FY27 Ebitda, Jio at 15 times FY27 Ebitda and Retail at 39 times FY27 Ebitda," PL Capital said.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank together accounted for 245-point positive contribution to the index's rise. 

The NSE Nifty was up 147.80 points, or 0.61 per cent, at 24,187.15. The market breadth was mixed, with 1,609 stocks advancing and 1,502 stocks declining so far.   

Bajaj Finserv gained 1.57 per cent to Rs 2,077.40. Mahindra & Mahindra added 1.56 per cent to Rs 2,906.85. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, State Bank of India and Tata Steel gained over 1 per cent each. 

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said the heightened uncertainty relating to Indo-Pak tensions may weigh on the market. While he felt it is difficult to judge how much the market has discounted the event, going by the resilience of the market, he felt the market has not discounted a scenario of the tensions culminating in a war between the two countries. 

"It is important to remember that markets have an uncanny ability to surprise by climbing many walls of worries," he said.

InCred Equities has rolled forward its Nifty target to FY27F EPS and raised its bull-case probability to 25 per cent to reflect the benefit of better-than-expected rainfall and easing crude oil prices. The brokerage has a blended target of 24,280 on Nifty. 

"After adding mid-caps in a big way in our Mar 2025 high- conviction list, we turn cautious now, as a quick jump in mid-cap & small-cap indices leading to their premium valuation (20-35%) to Nifty-50 is a cause of concern," it said.