Markets maintained their record-setting streak for yet another session as Sensex and Nifty ending at fresh lifetime highs amid optimism over earnings and short-covering on derivatives expiry. The BSE Sensex gained 104.63 points to end at 33,147.13, while the broader Nifty spurted 48.45 points to finish at 10,343.80 on Thursday.
Egged on by the Government’s massive Rs 9 lakh crore package to boost the economy, both the key indices had climbed to lifetime highs on Wednesday as well. Covering up of pending short positions by speculators on the expiry of the October derivatives contracts helped the index recover in the last hour of trade, brokers said.
The 30-share Sensex resumed lower at 33,025.17 and declined to 32,835.06 in a volatile session on profit booking at higher levels. It later bounced back to touch a record intra-day high of 33,196.17, before finishing at 33,147.13, up 104.63 points, or 0.32 per cent. The benchmark surpassed its previous record closing of 33,042.50 hit on Wednesday. In four days, the index has gained 764.20 points. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty, after shuttling between 10,355.65 and 10,271.85, settled at 10,343.80, up 48.45 points, or 0.47 per cent. It broke its previous record closing of 10,295.35 hit on Wednesday.
“Yet another high and no sign of fatigue. It seems that valuation is following the price as the prospects on domestic macros with signs of recovery in corporate earnings will support the outlook. While Thursday’s F&O expiry added some volatility in between, FIIs are likely to get attracted to the domestic tailwinds. Rising competition on market share between private and PSU banks will improve the trade, service and investment activities over the time,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Banking stocks led by PNB, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Bank and HDFC Bank rose up to 5.60 per cent, as investor sentiment remained upbeat over the government's Rs 2.11 lakh crore recapitalisation plan for NPA-hit public banks.
However, SBI, which zoomed 27.58 per cent on Wednesday, ended lower by 1.25 per cent. Other gainers that supported the key indices were Cipla (3.18 per cent), Maruti (2.60 per cent), Tata Steel (1.72 per cent), l&T (1.68 per cent), Sun Pharma (1.47 per cent), Bajaj Auto (1.40 per cent), Infosys (1.29 per cent), Coal India (1.14 per cent), Wipro (0.97 per cent), M&M (0.85 per cent) and Reliance Industries (0.78 per cent). Sector-wise, oil & gas jumped 2.19 per cent, followed by metal 2.07 per cent, capital goods 1.26 per cent, PSU 1.26 per cent, auto 0.62 per cent, healthcare 0.59 per cent, power 0.45 per cent and realty 0.37 per cent. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.61 per cent while mid-caps gained 0.50 per cent. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 3,582.50 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 155.71 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.15 per cent and Shanghai Composite gained 0.31 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.36 per cent. In the Eurozone, Paris CAC 40 rose 0.30 per cent, while Frankfurt's DAX was up by 0.20 per cent in late morning trade. london's FTSE rose 0.32 per cent.