Nifty scales record highs on upbeat macro-data, quarterly earnings

Mumbai: With stable inflation, healthy domestic factory output data and a strong rupee giving a fillip to investors' risk-taking appetite, the wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) hit record highs on Friday. The BSE Sensex also closed 250 points higher.

A positive start to the quarterly results season kept investors' sentiments buoyed, said market observers.

The Nifty50 closed at a new high of 10,167.45 points, surpassing its previous closing high of 10,153.10 points scaled on September 18.

The index also hit a fresh intra-day high of 10,191.90 points, crossing its previous high of 10,178.95 points on an intra-day basis scaled on September 19.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, too, witnessed a strong closing at 32,432.69 points -- up 250.47 points, or 0.78 per cent, from its previous close -- its highest level since August 1 when the Sensex closed at a high of 32,575.17 points.

The Nifty has soared by 24 per cent and the BSE Sensex by 22 per cent so far this year.

"Key indices jumped higher on good domestic economic data. Broad market indices like mid-cap in the NSE has closed marginally higher (up 0.21 per cent) and in the BSE closed on a flat note (up 0.04 per cent)," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

"Nifty continued its up-run on Friday and closed the day higher by around 71 points. Nifty has witnessed sharp upside momentum over the last two days and made a new all time high of around 10,191 levels," said Jasani.

On the currency front, the rupee strengthened by 15-16 paise to close at 64.93 against the US dollar from its previous close at 65.08-09.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: "Market saw a fresh high due to good start to Q2 (second quarter) results. Investors are sitting with a hope that the ongoing quarter result season is likely to be better as compared to Q1 due to a positive start which gives leeway to the valuation."

"Additionally, supportive IIP (Index of Industrial Production) and CPI (Consumer Price Index) data provided glimpse of improvement in economic activity." Nair added.

According to official data released on Thursday, the IIP for August showed that factory output grew 4.3 per cent against the same month last year, and September's CPI inflation remained static at 3.28 per cent as compared to August.

In terms of investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold scrips worth Rs 1,698.50 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 1,590.13 crore.

"Shares of metal companies were in focus with the S&P BSE metal index hitting six-year high on expectations of strong earnings growth in July-September quarter (Q2FY18)," said Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls.

"Reliance Industries hit record high for the second day in a row ahead of its September quarter earnings due later in the day post-market hours," Desai told IANS.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE banking index surged by 365.34 points, followed by metal index by 167.34 points and telecom index by 74.87 points.

On the other hand, the S&P BSE healthcare index fell by 40.67 points, followed by FMCG index by 25.86 points and capital goods index by 24.25 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Friday were: Bharti Airtel, up 7.89 per cent at Rs 431.60; Tata Steel, up 2.86 per cent at Rs 710.60; Kotak Bank, up 2.20 per cent at Rs 1,081.70; HDFC Bank, up 2.09 per cent at Rs 1,853.45; and Coal India, up 2 per cent at Rs 288.05.

Major Sensex losers were: Dr. Reddy's Lab, down 1.18 per cent at Rs 2,351.90; Mahindra and Mahindra, down 0.95 per cent at Rs 1,326.40; Sun Pharma, down 0.87 per cent at Rs 534.70; ITC, down 0.43 per cent at Rs 265.85; and Maruti Suzuki, down 0.41 per cent at Rs 7,872.20.