Indices close at record highs amid inflow of foreign funds
Sensex, Nifty rise against backdrop of largely firm trend in other Asian markets
MUMBAI: The Sensex and Nifty ended at fresh lifetime peaks on Tuesday amid a largely firm trend in other Asian markets and continuous foreign fund inflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 177.04 points or 0.28% to settle at 62,681.84, its fresh record closing high. During the day, it jumped 382.6 points or 0.61% to its lifetime intra-day peak of 62,887.40.
The broader NSE Nifty advanced 55.30 points or 0.30% to end at 18,618.05, its fresh record closing high.
“While the winning streak continued and key benchmarks scaled new highs, investors traded with caution in a slightly volatile market. There are worries about growing protests in China over the imposition of strict lockdowns to contain the spread of coronavirus, which markets fear could hurt the already slowing global economy,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (retail), Kotak Securities Ltd
“If the situation doesn’t improve, this could impact the market. But since India is in a slightly better position compared to other major economies, investors are willing to bet big on us,” Chouhan said.
Among the Sensex stocks, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, Nestle, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Titan, and HCL Technologies were the major winners.
IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Power Grid and Larsen & Toubro were among the major laggards.
“Indian markets opened on positive note following positive overall Asian markets... During the afternoon session the markets continued their positive trend with heavy buying in fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG) and consumer durables stocks,” said Narendra Solanki, head, fundamental research, investment services, Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers.
“Sentiments remained optimistic as data showed that foreign portfolio investors have infused funds worth ₹32,344 crore in the Indian stock markets so far in the month of November and became net buyers again,” Solanki said.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 0.39% and smallcap index dipped 0.29%.
Among sectoral indices, FMCG jumped 1.73%, metal (0.57%), consumer durables (0.58%) and healthcare (0.54%).
Consumer discretionary, energy, industrials, telecommunication, auto, bankex, and services were among the laggards.
Markets in Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ended higher, while Tokyo settled lower.
Equity exchanges in Europe were trading mostly lower in the afternoon trade. Wall Street had ended in the negative territory on Monday.
Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth ₹935.88 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the rupee slipped 3 paise to close at 81.71 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday as rising crude oil prices in the international market weighed on sentiment in the forex market.
However, a firm trend in domestic equities and a weak American currency overseas capped the losses in the local unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 81.58 but later slipped into the negative territory. During the session, it touched an intra-day high of 81.57 and a low of 81.74 against the greenback.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.335 to 106.33.