Indices hit all-time closing highs; rally for 5th day in a row
The NSE Nifty gained 50 points, while the BSE Sensex climbed 211.6 points
MUMBAI: Benchmark indices ended at lifetime closing highs on Monday amid foreign fund inflows, a decline in crude oil prices, and buying in index major Reliance Industries.
Rallying for the fifth day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 211.16 points or 0.34% to settle at 62,504.80, its fresh record closing high. During the day, it jumped 407.76 points or 0.65% to its lifetime intra-day peak of 62,701.40.
The broader NSE Nifty gained 50 points or 0.27% to end at 18,562.75, its record closing high.
“Sentiment and flows are acting as strong catalysts for the markets which touched an alltime high. We are seeing domestic as also foreign investors being net buyers of equity aiding the momentum,” said Lakshmi Iyer, chief executive officer, investment advisory, Kotak Investment Advisors Limited.
Among the Sensex stocks, Reliance Industries jumped the most by 3.48%, followed by Nestle, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, ICICI Bank, and IndusInd Bank. Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.
“Despite unfavourable global cues, the domestic market reversed its early losses to trade at record highs. Following the decline in oil prices, oil and gas stocks led the rally in anticipation of margin gains, as ongoing protests in China fuelled demand concerns. Global markets will depend on the speech by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, which is crucial in maintaining the momentum, as the market seems to have factored in a moderation in the pace of rate hike,” according to Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.77% and the midcap gauge jumped 0.72%.
Among sectoral indices, oil and gas climbed 1.49%, energy 1.44%, auto 0.64%, consumer discretionary 0.59%, industrials 0.46%, and FMCG 0.29%.
Commodities, telecommunication, utilities, consumer durables, power and tech were the laggards.
Markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended low.
Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the negative territory in the afternoon trade. Wall Street had ended mostly low on Friday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 3.11% lower at $81.03 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth ₹369.08 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Foreign portfolio investors have rediscovered their liking for Indian equities, making a net investment of ₹31,630 crore in November in the hope of an end to the aggressive rate hikes and positivity about overall macroeconomic trends.
Meanwhile, the rupee climbed 5 paise to close at 81.66 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday compared to its previous close of 81.71 as lower crude prices in and a firm trend in domestic equities boosted investor sentiment.
A weak American currency and foreign fund inflows also supported the domestic unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 81.81 and touched an intra-day high of 81.61 and a low of 81.83 against the greenback.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.35% to 105.59.