INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MUMBAI: Benchmark indices posted record closing highs on Monday, ending up over 1per cent on strong cues from Asian markets after the US
Federal Reserve affirmed the central bank’s gradual rate hike policy.
The NSE Nifty crossed 11,700 for the first time, setting a new
lifetime high of 11,700.95 during Monday’s session
The index ended a shade below that milestone, up 134.85 points, or 1.2per cent, from the previous close at 11,691.95
The gain was its biggest rise in nearly two months
The Sensex posted its biggest single-day gain since May 31, and ended up 442.31 points, or 1.2per cent, at 38,694.11 after touching a record
high of 38,736.88 in Monday’s session.
The local volatility index, India VIX, ended down 1.4per cent at 12.24.
The Sensex has hit record
highs 23 times out of the 31 sessions since July 12, when it had hit a record high after a gap of over six months
Even as the rupee hit record lows, the indices have managed to maintain their supremacy as the best performing Asian market this year on the
back of gains in select index heavyweights, easing oil prices and better-than-expected corporate earnings in the quarter ended June.
The
advance-decline ratio was in favour of the bulls, as 1,432 stocks gained on the BSE compared to 1,294 stocks ending lower than their
previous close.
Asian stocks gained following a fresh all-time high in US markets on Friday as the Federal Reserve reaffirmed a slow and
gradual pace of policy tightening.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.9per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite surged 1.9per cent, Hong
Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.2per cent and Taiwan’s Taiex index rose 0.9per cent.
Nifty Blasts Past 11,700All but the real estate
sector index on the BSE ended in the green
Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex, up nearly 4per cent at Rupee383; followed by Power Grid Corporation of India, ICICI Bank,
State Bank of India, Infosys and YES Bank which gained 2.3-3.6per cent.
“It is a narrow rally led by a handful of stocks
Some corporate banks are joining the rally
The rally needs to broaden more for the gains to sustain,” said Pramod Gubbi, head of equities at Ambit Capital.
It is difficult to
justify more gains in the stocks that have already rallied as valuations there have reached the top-end, said Gubbi.
Stability in foreign
flows is also keeping the market afloat even as the Indian rupee continues to hover around 70 per dollar mark
Foreign Portfolio Investors net bought Indian shares amounting to Rupee252.52 crore on Monday, provisional data showed
Domestic institutional investors were also net buyers
They picked up Indian stocks worth Rupee1,117.24 crore on Monday, the data showed.
So far in August, Foreign Portfolio Investors are net
buyers of Indian shares worth Rupee1,702 crore
In the previous month, their total purchases in the Indian equity market amounted to Rupee1,430 crore.
