Record-hitting streak continues on bourses

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex rallied 666 points to close at a fresh record high on Thursday following buying in auto and banking shares amid gains in global markets. The BSE Sensex jumped 666.25 points or 0.78 per cent to settle at a record high of 85,836.12 amid monthly expiry in the derivatives segment. As many as 28 Sensex stocks advanced and two declined. During the day, it reached a record intra-day peak of 85,930.43, surging 760.56 points or 0.89 per cent. The benchmark is just 69.57 points away from the 86,000-peak. Rallying for the sixth day in a row, the NSE Nifty climbed 211.90 points or 0.81 per cent to close at a record high of 26,216.05. During the day, it soared 246.75 points or 0.94 per cent to hit a fresh intra-day lifetime peak of 26,250.90.

“China’s recent economic stimulus announcement has greatly enhanced investor confidence, resulting in significant positive momentum in global markets, especially within Asian indices. Moreover, the market is maintaining an optimistic outlook in response to stable US economic data. Concurrently, the Indian market is reaching new highs, anticipating a strong recovery in corporate earnings for the H2FY25, fuelled by expected government expenditure,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.39 per cent while midcap index ended flat, marginally down 0.01 per cent.

“On the monthly expiry day, markets edged higher and gained nearly 1%, driven by favorable cues. Supportive global cues and rotational buying across sectors are driving the index higher each week,” said Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

As many as 257 stocks hit their 52-week high levels while 46 firms declined to their 52-week lows.

“There are no immediate near-term triggers that can take the market sharply up or down. Up moves may attract selling by FIIs who are likely to move some more money to China and Hong Kong since these markets are cheap and are witnessing an uptrend now, said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Maruti jumped nearly 5 per cent. Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance and Nestle were the other big gainers. Larsen & Toubro and NTPC were the laggards.