The rally in equities also made investors richer by Rs 2 lakh crore on Friday.
According to Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, Indian equities are set to make an all-time high on the back of a strong rally in global markets supported by healthy domestic cues
Mumbai:
With falling inflation, and healthy economic numbers, the two Indian stock markets opened and closed at a higher note on Friday and are near their 52 week high levels.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms reached an all-time high of Rs 292.78 lakh crore on Friday amid a firm trend in equities where the benchmark Sensex settled at a record closing high of 63,384.58.
The Nifty of the NSE opened at 18,723.30 and touched a high of 18,864.70 to close at 18,826 points. The 52-week high point was 18,887.60.
Similarly, the Sensex of BSE opened at 62,960.73, touched a high of 62,520.36 and closed at 62,917.63 points. The highest level was 63,583.07 points.
Markets analysts attributed the rally in the markets to the fact that the Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates, while positive global cues and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turning net buyers of local equities also supported the uptrend. The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 466.95 points or 0.74 per cent to settle at a record closing high of 63,384.58. During the day, it rallied 602.73 points or 0.95 per cent to 63,520.36.
The Sensex is just 198.49 points away from its lifetime intra-day peak of 63,583.07 on December 1, 2022.
Thanks to the rebound in equities, the market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed firms reached a record high of Rs 2,92,78,245.41 crore.
The rally in equities also made investors richer by Rs 2 lakh crore on Friday.
The previous record high of the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms was Rs 2,91,25,007.45 crore, registered on December 14, 2022. ”Bulls at Dalal Street were in a celebratory mood as investors were happy, with the fact that the Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates, while positive global cues also supported the uptick. FIIs turning net buyers of local shares and the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite flirting near their fresh 14-month highs also contributed to the overall mood,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
“The Nifty index has successfully broken above the important resistance level of 18,800, indicating a bullish sign,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities.
Shah said the writers of call options at 18,800 strike have been observed covering their positions, suggesting a positive sentiment as the Nifty sustains its position above 18,800.
Bajaj Finserv was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing 2.21 per cent, followed by Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, ITC, HDFC, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HUL, Reliance Industries and Mahindra & Mahindra.
”Indian equity markets continued to rise along with a rally in the global markets. Sensex and Nifty gained over 1 per cent this week,” Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equities Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd, said. On a weekly basis, the BSE benchmark jumped 758.95 points or 1.21 per cent.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.76 per cent, and the midcap index jumped 0.71 per cent.
Among the indices, financial services climbed 1.21 per cent, bankex jumped 1.03 per cent, capital goods (1.02 per cent), industrials (0.91 per cent), FMCG (0.80 per cent), consumer durables (0.78 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.74 per cent).
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green.
Equity markets in Europe were trading with gains. The US markets ended significantly higher on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,085.51 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
”The domestic market rebounded with strong buying in banking, pharma, and consumer stocks, along with positive cues from global markets. The US market’s optimism was bolstered by better-than-expected retail sales, reflecting the robustness of the economy.
”Furthermore, jobless claims remain elevated, and a decline in import prices raised hopes for a prolonged pause in interest rate hikes by the Fed, contradicting their announcement of potential future rate hikes made the previous day,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
The moving averages are below the current index value, which further supports the bullish outlook.
Furthermore, the momentum indicator has given a falling trend line breakout, indicating a potential increase in upward momentum, Shah said.”As long as the Nifty remains above the support level of 17,700, the overall trend is expected to remain positive.
However, a resistance level is anticipated at 19,000, which may present a challenge for further upward movement,” he said.
According to Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, Indian equities are set to make an all-time high on the back of a strong rally in global markets supported by healthy domestic cues.
Nifty continued its northbound journey to end at an all-time high on closing basis, with gains of 138 points (0.7 per cent) at 18,826 levels. The broader market too ended in green.
“Majority of the sectors ended in positive territory with Banking and Financial being top gainers up 1 per cent each,” Khemka said.
“Falling inflation and healthy economic data along with consistent FIIs buying cheered the domestic sentiments. Nifty came within striking distance of an all-time high. We expect the overall structure to remain positive with major events now behind,” he added.
According to him, all eyes would be on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US next week, as it would bring in cross-border agreements with a key focus on defence. Sectors like pharma, healthcare, and insurance companies would remain in focus after recovery was seen in monthly industry data.