How the markets closed on Monday
Dalal Street ended Monday’s volatile session with modest gains after recovering from steep losses earlier in the day. The Sensex rose 107 points, or 0.13%, to 81,107 and the Nifty gained 58 points, or 0.23%, to 25,045, their highest closing levels in more than eight months. Both indices had slipped as much as 0.4% in the morning as investors booked profits after a seven-session rally of about 10%. Public sector banks led the recovery, with the Nifty PSU Bank index jumping 3.7%, and pharma gained 1.6%. IT fell 1.2%. Cheaper oil, a stronger rupee and sustained foreign buying supported the market, and the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.6%.
How realty stocks fared
Property shares had a roller-coaster Diwali. The Nifty Realty index fell 0.66% in Sunday’s Muhurat session and weighed on the market again at Monday’s open, but it bounced back to close 0.8% higher. That follows a surge of 2.85% on Wednesday and 3.52% on Thursday last week, roughly 6.5% across two sessions, so the sector has been catching up with the market after a long lag.
Housing finance stocks: the other side of the home loan story
Listed housing finance companies, which lend to the same buyers developers are trying to attract, have had a more mixed run. LIC Housing Finance reported an 11% rise in second-quarter profit to ₹1,509 crore, with disbursements up 11% on the year and a loan book of ₹3.26 lakh crore. Its shares rose for five straight sessions to about ₹529 on November 6, though they remain down about 8.6% over a year and trade at only around five times earnings. The company has raised its lending rates by 25 basis points, a sign that the RBI’s October hike is reaching borrowers. Aadhar Housing Finance hit a 52-week low of ₹414 on November 2 before recovering to about ₹433 after posting a profit of ₹308 crore, and the housing finance sector as a whole is roughly flat over a year.
What to expect on Wednesday
NSE and BSE are closed today for Diwali-Balipratipada, and trading resumes at 9:15 AM tomorrow. GIFT Nifty is at 25,058, about 13 points above Monday’s Nifty close, pointing to a flat start. Analysts say the Nifty needs to hold above 24,800 to keep the positive bias, with 25,100 to 25,250 the first hurdle and 25,350 to 25,800 the larger resistance. A fall below 24,800 could take it towards 24,600. After an 8.6% weekly rally, consolidation is widely expected. For realty, watch whether buyers defend Monday’s gain and whether volumes stay strong on dips.
What is moving realty stocks
- Foreign money: FIIs have been heavy buyers, while domestic funds sold more than ₹16,000 crore on November 5 and 6 combined.
- Oil and the rupee: Crude below $100 and a firmer rupee ease inflation worries.
- Interest rates: The RBI’s repo rate is 5.50%, so home loan EMIs remain a concern for buyers.
- Earnings: Lodha’s profit rose 28% to ₹1,013 crore and Brigade’s 29% to ₹219 crore, while Godrej Properties’ profit fell 62% despite record collections.
What to wait for
- Inflation data: India’s and US inflation numbers will shape the interest-rate outlook.
- Diwali sales data: Developers’ booking and launch updates will show whether homebuyers returned after a 21% drop in bookings in April to June.
- Remaining Q2 results: A few developers are yet to report, with November 14 the last day.
- Next RBI meeting: It is scheduled for December 2 to 4.
The outlook
Realty enters Samvat 2083 with momentum, but after such a sharp run a pause is healthy. The sector needs steady oil, foreign inflows and real festive sales numbers to keep climbing.
Also Read: Realty Stocks Look for Footing as Sensex and Nifty Open Slightly Lower
