With strong and healthy corporate results as well as investors’ buying spree, Dalal Stree broke new record on Monday as the Nifty was almost close to the sensational 10,000-mark, while the BSE benchmark Sensex closed at a record new high again too.
The NSE Nifty broke free and hit an all time high of 9,982.05 in day’s trade. However, it closed at 9,966.40, a life high, up 51.15 points, or 0.52 per cent, over its last close.
The key stocks in the sectors such as oil & gas, finance, IT and FMCG among others threw their weight behind the rally. The rise was broad based as 156 stocks on the BSE surged to fresh 52-week highs on the BSE which include names like Sundaram Finance, RIl, HCl Technologies, Saregama, Wipro, Hindalco, Tinplate, Manappuram Finance, Jindal Saw etc. among others. Among the 100 stocks, almost 49 stocks hit fresh record highs which include names like Bajaj Finserv, Britannia Industries, DMart, Uflex, Deepak Fertilisers, Sunil Agro Foods, Vinati Organics ltd etc. among others.
The investors were happy as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook Update, retained India GDP forecast at 7.2 cent for the current fiscal, saying the country will pip China in growth sweepstakes in 2017 and 2018 as well.
The 30-share BSE barometer rose to all time intra-day high of 32,320.86 as index heavyweight Reliance Industries, ITC and TCS registered strong gains. The Sensex settled higher by 216.98 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 32,245.87, a closing record.
Reliance Industries raced to 52-week high on better than estimated earnings and announcement of bonus share. It closed with gains of 1.89 per cent on the BSE. The stock of HDFC Bank jumped 1.83 per cent after it posted 20 per cent growth in net profit.
“Positive growth metrics for India endorsed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya propped up investors’ risk-on sentiment. latest report from the IMF has projected India’s growth at 7.7 per cent in 2018 estimating a significant increase against the backdrop of ongoing economic reforms,” said Karthikraj lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager - Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
Traders, however, said Bharti Airtel, FMCG giant ITC, TCS, Wipro, Infosys, ICICI Bank and SBI all had a good day, posting gains of up to 2.20 per cent. “Better-than-expected earnings by most corporates so far and a steady progress in monsoon also aided the rally that saw several stocks touching fresh 52-week highs,” they said.
The bullishness rubbed off on broader markets, lifting both small-cap and mid-cap indices. Bucking the trend, Dr Reddy’s, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma lost by up to 2.44 per cent. Most Asian markets ended mixed as investors trained their attention to the US Federal Reserve meeting later in the week.
European shares were under pressure in their late morning trade. Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth a net Rs 12.90 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchase to the tune of Rs 147.66 on Friday, as per provisional data.