Sensex touches historic high of 61,795 spurred by global rally

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex vaulted 1,181 points to close at its all-time high on Friday, in lockstep with a rally in global markets after lower-than-expected US inflation data fuelled hopes that the US Fed may go slow on rate hikes. A sharp recovery in the rupee and unabated foreign capital inflows further bolstered sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 1,181.34 points or 1.95 per cent to settle at 61,795.04 -- surpassing its previous closing peak of 61,765.59 hit on October 18, 2021. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty rallied 321.50 points or 1.78 per cent to finish at 18,349.70. HDFC twins topped the Sensex gainers' chart, jumping up to 5.84 per cent, following reports that the merged entity's weightage could increase in MSCI global indices. The market breadth was bullish, as 22 of the 30 Sensex counters closed in the green.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the Indian capital market on Thursday, as they bought shares worth Rs 36.06 crore, as per exchange data.

"The domestic market joined the global run as markets across the world cheered the lower-than-expected US inflation data. The US dollar slumped along with treasury yields as investors evaluated the likelihood of a less hawkish rate hike by the Fed. Reduced treasury yields will aid to improve FII inflows. The rally of domestic market was led by IT stocks as recession fears reduced and HDFC twins after merger overhang," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said, "Markets have been maintaining a positive trend and recovery in the US markets is fuelling momentum at regular intervals. Since Nifty has reclaimed the 18,350 mark, we are now eyeing the record high in the index. At the same time, we've been observing selective participation so stock selection holds importance. Besides, the underperformance of the broader market is also hurting the sentiment," he added.