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Rate cut hopes drive mkts up
Stock markets maintained their winning streak for the sixth day in row on Wednesday as investors continued their buying activity on expectations that RBI would bring down the policy rate.
Sensex adds 135 points to hit five-week high of 24,793
Mumbai: Stock markets maintained their winning streak for the sixth day in row on Wednesday as investors continued their buying activity on expectations that RBI would bring down the policy rate.
Benchmark BSE Sensex added 135 to hit a five-week high of 24,793.96 points while NSE Nifty climbed higher by 46.50 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 7,531.80.
The 30-share Sensex opened lower, but across-the-board buying towards the late session, backed up by a higher opening in Europe, meant that the index recovered and ended the day higher by 134.73 points, or 0.55 per cent, at 24,793.96, its highest closing in five weeks.
It had ended at 24,824.83 on February 1, 2016. The benchmark had gained 1,657.23 points in the previous five sessions in a row. Analysts said the ongoing bull-run has come mostly on hopes of a likely rate cut by the Reserve Bank after the government retained its deficit target for the next fiscal at 3.5 per cent of GDP in Budget 2016-17.
Revival of buying by foreign funds gave sentiment a lift too. Maruti Suzuki was the toast of town as it surged 4 per cent to Rs 3,600 after the carmaker launched its much-awaited compact SUV model ‘Vitara Brezza’. Others that supported the uptrend include L&T, ONGC, Hindustan Unilever, BHEL, RIL, Axis Bank and Infosys.
In the Sensex-30 kitty, 20 ended higher, while 10 including HDFC, Coal India NTPC and Adani Ports, lost due to profit-booking. The BSE capital goods covered the maximum ground by surging 1.63 per cent, followed by realty 1.51 per cent. Power index rose 1.42 per cent while auto went up 1.25 per cent. The broader markets too were in a better form, in line with the overall trend.
The mid-cap index rose 0.94 per cent while small-cap gained 0.04 per cent. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 775.07 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional data.
Other Asian markets closed in the red after disappointing Chinese trade data rekindled fears about global growth. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 0.08 per cent lower while Shanghai Composite closed 1.34 per cent lower. Japan’s Nikkei too shed 0.84 per cent.
