Sensex rises 1,181 pts to close at all-time high amid global rally
A sharp recovery in the rupee and foreign capital inflows bolstered sentiment
MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex vaulted 1,181 points to close at its all-time high on Friday, in lockstep with a rally in global markets after lowerthan-expected US inflation data fuelled hopes that the US Federal Reserve may go slow on rate hikes.
A sharp recovery in the rupee and unabated foreign capital inflows further bolstered sentiment, traders said.
The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 1,181.34 points or 1.95% to settle at 61,795.04, surpassing its previous closing peak of 61,765.59 hit on October 18, 2021. The broader NSE Nifty rallied 321.50 points or 1.78% to finish at 18,349.70.
The HDFC twins topped the Sensex gainers’ chart, jumping up to 5.84%, following reports that the merged entity’s weightage could increase in MSCI global indices. M&M, SBI, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy’s, ICICI Bank and NTPC were among the laggards, shedding up to 0.83%.
The market breadth was bullish, as 22 of the 30 Sensex counters closed in the green.
“The domestic market joined the global run as markets across the world cheered the lowerthan-expected US inflation data. The US dollar slumped along with treasury yields as investors evaluated the likelihood of a less hawkish rate hike by the Fed,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
“Since the Nifty has reclaimed the 18,350 mark, we are now eyeing a record high in the index. At the same time, we’ve been observing selective participation so stock selection holds importance. Besides, the underperformance of the broader market is also hurting the sentiment. Participants should align their positions accordingly and prefer stocks that are trading in tandem with the benchmark,” said Ajit Mishra, vice-president, research, Religare Broking Ltd.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge gained 0.15 per cent and the midcap index rose 0.33%.
Among sectoral indices, IT, metal, financial and tech gained the most, while auto, power and FMCG were the top losers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 7.70% while the Nikkei in Tokyo surged 2.98%. In Seoul, the Kospi rose 3.37%. The Shanghai Composite index rallied 1.69%. Equity exchanges in Europe were also trading in the green in the afternoon session. Stock exchanges in the US ended with significant gains on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 62 paise to close at 80.78 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, as moderating US CPI data coupled with a fall in the dollar index boosted investor sentiments.
Forex traders said positive domestic equities and sustained foreign fund inflows also supported the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 80.76 and touched an intra-day high of 80.58 and a low of 80.99 against the greenback.
“The Indian rupee appreciated on weak US Dollar and positive domestic markets. Sustained FII inflows also supported Rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias on rise in risk appetite in global markets and weakness in the greenback,” Choudhary said.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude gained 2.37% to $95.89 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the Indian capital market on Thursday, buying shares worth ₹36.06 crore, exchange data showed.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.82% to 107.31.