Sensex closes above record 75K mark, Nifty hits new peak

DOMESTIC STOCK market ended higher on Wednesday with the Sensex closing above the 75,000 mark for the first time and the Nifty hitting a fresh record high.

The 30-share Sensex advanced 354.45 points, or 0.47 per cent, to close at 75,038.15, and the Nifty climbed 111 points, or 0.49 per cent to end at a new high of 22,753.8.

On Tuesday, Sensex breached the milestone of 75,000, but closed at 74,683.7.

The total market cap, or the total value of all listed shares, of BSE listed companies increased to Rs 402.19 lakh crore – an alltime high. The m-cap of BSE firms crossed the Rs 400 lakh crore threshold on April 8.

“Indian markets sustained their upward momentum, buoyed by a robust performance in the broader market, albeit slightly lagging behind its Asian and European counterparts,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Even as FII (foreign institutional investors) investment in local equities have been volatile over the past few months, domestic flows have been strong which has been a key catalyst behind markets touching record highs, said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

“Backed by strong growth prospects going ahead and poll fever steadily gripping up, investors are maintaining their bullish stance resulting in the Sensex closing above the 75K mark for the first time, while Nifty scaling fresh intra-day high,” he said.

On Wednesday, world stocks traded mostly higher, ignoring the action by ratings agency Fitch of downgrading its China outlook.

Bullish news in the tech sector and higher commodity prices also helped sentiments.

Nifty Bank ended 0.53 per cent up at 48,986.6.

The NSE companies that gained the most were Coal India Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), ITC Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hindalco Industries Ltd.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIS) bought Rs 2,778.17 crore of domestic shares on a net basis, and the domestic institutional investors (DIIS) net purchased Rs 163.36 crore of equities, BSE’S provisional data showed.

The share of the low-cost current and savings account deposits will also moderate as customers continue preferring the higher-yielding term deposits. This will put pressure on the net interest margins (NIMS) for banks, it added