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Equity indices defied gravity for the fourth straight session to finish at fresh lifetime highs on Thursday as investors accumulated IT, telecom, and FMCG stocks ahead of RBI’s policy decision. A strengthening trend in the rupee and unabated foreign fund inflows have bolstered market sentiment, traders said. After scaling its all-time peak of 54,717.24 during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 123.07 points or 0.23 percent higher at its new closing record of 54,492.84.
In a similar movement, the broader NSE Nifty rose 35.80 points or 0.22 percent to its lifetime peak of 16,294.60. It touched an intra-day record of 16,349.45.
Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 4.30 percent, while Reliance Industries spurted 1.41 percent as investors wagered on a two-player telecom market after Kumar Mangalam Birla stepped down as chairman of debt-laden rival Vodafone Idea. ITC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, and HDFC Bank were the other prominent winners, jumping up to 3.14 percent.
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”Domestic benchmark indices extended gains as a rebound in IT and metals supported them to scale new highs. Additionally, recovery in FMCG stocks and RIL supported the market,” said Binod Modi, Head – Strategy at Reliance Securities.
However, it was again not a broad-based rally as profit booking in midcap and smallcap stocks remained visible, he added. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, ”Despite witnessing consolidation in the opening session, large caps managed to continue trading at record high levels with the support from IT, Metal and FMCG stocks.”
”Banking stocks continued to be under pressure ahead of the RBI’s policy announcement. Importantly, the broad market has started to underperform. Investors should be cautious in the short-term regarding the performance of mid and small-caps after the thrilling rally during the year,” he added.
The RBI will announce its bi-monthly monetary policy on Friday amid expectations that it may opt for the status quo on interest rates on account of inflationary concerns. Sectorally, BSE telecom, metal, tech, energy and IT surged up to 3.39 percent, while realty, bankex, finance, and utility indices ended in the red. The broader BSE midcap index rose 0.10 percent, while the smallcap gauge fell 0.43 percent. Global equities were mixed as investors digested corporate results and macroeconomic data. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul ended in the red, while Tokyo closed with gains.
Equities in Europe were largely trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.72 percent to USD 70.89 per barrel. Rising for the fourth session on the trot, the rupee inched 2 paise higher to close at 74.17 against the US dollar. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,828.57 crore, as per exchange data.