INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mumbai: India’s equity benchmarks closed at a record on Tuesday, with the Nifty crossing 11,800 following the forecast of a near-normal
monsoon by the weather department and a strong start to the earnings season.
The Sensex rose 0.95 per cent to 39,275.64 points at the close
after hitting an all-time high of 39,364.34 while the Nifty climbed 0.8 per cent to close at 11,787.15
The 50-stock index set a new intraday high of 11,810.95
The Bank Nifty index also hit a lifetime high of 30,590.95 points before ending up 1.4 per cent at 30,531.35
There was an element of nervousness, though — the India VIX volatility gauge ended up 2.3 per cent at 21.87 after crossing 22 intraday for
the first time since October 31 last year.
IndusInd Bank gained the most on the Sensex, ending 4 per cent up
ICICI Bank, Oil Natural Gas Corp, Larsen Toubro, Maruti Suzuki India, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto gained 1.3-3.6 per cent
Infosys lagged for the second consecutive day after guiding for lower profits in FY20 and ended down 0.4 per cent.
“The monsoon is
expected to be near normal, foreign investors continue to put in money, markets are looking technically strong and the election outcome is
expected to be stable,” said Shiv Diwan, co-head, institutional equities, Edelweiss
“Given these factors, the Nifty may come closer to 12,000 in the April series.”
Nifty forms golden crossThe June-September rainy season
is crucial to India’s farm output and the country’s broader economic wellbeing, particularly with growth under pressure.
The Nifty has
formed a so-called golden cross on the technical charts, which suggests continuation of market strength, analysts said
A golden cross is formed when a stock or an index’s 50-day, short-term moving average goes past its 200-day moving average.
The Nifty has
gained 9.2 per cent and Sensex has risen 9.5 per cent since the beginning of March, primarily due to strong overseas investment flows into
emerging markets and opinion polls suggesting that the BJP-led coalition will return to power after votes in the ongoing national poll are
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth a net Rs 1,038.6 crore on Tuesday while domestic institutional investors
(DIIs) bought local shares worth Rs 37.2 crore, according to provisional data
However, the FPI figure is much less than what it was in March
FPIs have pumped Rs 5,800 crore into Indian equities so far in April, including provisional data for Tuesday
That compares with Rs 42,600 crore in March
DIIs have been net sellers to the tune of Rs 936 crore in Indian markets so far this month.
Some market experts said a BJP win is more or
less priced in but others believe there is more upside left
The BJP-led government’s response to the Pulwama terror attacks has helped the party’s prospects of retaining power, said market
participants.
“The market undertone and liquidity have been strong
Some of the expectation around election outcome has been priced in but it cannot be said if it is fully priced in,” said Harsha Upadhyaya,
chief investment officer, equity, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co.
