KEY EQUITY INDICES SURGE ON IMF’S GROWTH OUTLOOK

Extending gains for the fifth consecutive session, the key Indian equity indices, on Tuesday, rode the bulls and escalated to record highs with the BSE Sensex closing above the 36,000-mark and the NSE Nifty50 above the 11,000-mark for the first time. Market observers said sentiments were given a boost by the country's healthy economic growth outlook projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and optimism over the Union Budget, to be presented the following week.

Apart from positive global cues and influx of foreign funds, the bull run of the benchmark indices was also sustained by upbeat quarterly corporate earnings and healthy buying in metals, banking and oil and gas stocks. The barometer 30scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE surged over 300 points to a record intraday high of 36,170.83 points. On a closing basis, the Sensex scaled a new high of 36,139.98 points -- up 341.97 points or 0.96 per cent -- from its Monday's close at 35,798.01 points. However, the BSE market breadth was bearish as 1,545 stocks declined as against 1,380 advances. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader Nifty50 closed above the 11,000-mark -- up 117.50 points or 1.07 per cent at a fresh high of 11,083.70 points. The NSE Nifty50 scaled a new intra-day high of 11,092.90 points -- just a few points away from the 11,100 points-mark.

"Indian equity markets broke records, closing at the highest point for both Sensex and Nifty," Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told the IANS. The "Nifty traded and sailed past the 11,000 mark, while the BSE Sensex breached the 36,000 level for the first time after an IMF report showed India was set to regain the title as the world's fastest growing major economy in 2018-19," Desai added.

Speaking to the agency, Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said: "Positive global cues also supported the Indian indices." "Broad market indices like the BSE mid-cap index gained more, thereby outperforming the main indices." In the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index closed higher by 1.13 per cent and the small-cap index by 0.22 per cent. On the global front, major Asian markets closed on a positive note, while European indices like FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 traded in the green. Provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors purchased scrips worth Rs 1,229.35 crore and the domestic institutional investors worth Rs 169.03 crore.