Mumbai - Indian equities continued upward march for second straight session on June 22, as low-level buying pushed benchmark indices higher. Strong global cues and some positive commentary from analysts also helped the market recover from the recent onslaught.

The 30-share flagship BSE Sensex advanced over 1061 points or 2 percent to trade over 52,600-level. Its broader peer NSE Nifty climbed 322 odd points and hovered around 15,700 level. Broader market indices namely the Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 also rose about 2 percent each.

Thanks to the buying, equity investors’ wealth – reflected in the total market cap of BSE listed firms – rose by Rs 5.18 lakh crore. The total market cap stood at Rs 240 lakh crore.

Among the biggest bluechip gainers of the day were Titan, Tata Motors HCL Tech, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel and TCS which spiked 2-6 percent. There were no losers among the Nifty 50 names.

Below are key factors that led to buying in the market:

Relatively cheap valuation
Equities have been battered black and blue in the last few months, and thus many quality names are also available at bargain prices. This has attracted long-term investors into the market. This low level of buying is one of the main reasons for the surging market today.
Bullish commentary

CLSA in a report said its proprietary India Bull-Bear Index signals a crash in equity market sentiment to 92 percent bearish from 99 percent bullish nine months ago.

“Our back-testing shows 90-95 percent bearish points to have produced good 3M/12M returns in nearly all instances since 2007 barring the deep bear markets of 2008 and 2020. A sharp fall in trading volume may also suggest waning selling intensity,” the broker said.

Global cues
Entire Asia basked was trading in the green, which followed buying in European stocks on Monday that rose up to 2 percent. This improved sentiments on Dalal Street as well on Tuesday.

Crude oil prices
Another reason why Indian investors have turned bullish is a drop in crude oil prices. The Brent crude oil prices have retreated about 9 percent in the last week. Crude oil is the key input material for many companies, and a drop in prices mean better margins for them.
– Money Control