Sensex ends at record high, Nifty at 15,690 for first time

India’s stock markets continued to touch new highs on investor hopes that the economy will stage a rebound in line with the receding second wave of the pandemic and acceleration of the nationwide vaccination programme.

The markets gained nearly 1% ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy review on Friday. Market participants are expecting RBI to keep unchanged key interest rates. The central bank’s commentary on growth and inflation will be closely watched.

Both the benchmark indices hit record highs on Thursday. BSE Sensex edged 382.95 points or 0.74% higher to close at 52,232.43. Nifty gained 114.15 points or 0.73% at 15,690.35. While Nifty hit its new intra-day record high of 15,705, the Sensex closed just a tad away from its all-time high of 52,516, that it had hit in February this year.

Shares in other markets in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Thursday with Japan’s Nikkei gaining 0.46% while South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.72% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.13% and Shanghai Composite in China was down 0.76%.

“Global cues were mixed as investors weighed inflationary concerns ahead of the key US economic data. The overall structure of the market remains positive as states gear up to unlock their economy in a phased manner, with fresh Covid cases continuing its southward trajectory. Vaccination programme has gathered some pace and with increase in supplies soon, the drive will gain further momentum. Thus, as the second wave continues to recede in India and pace of vaccination picks up, we expect the longterm fundamentals to remain intact,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.