BSE Sensex, Nifty50 hit new highs as Dalal Street continues party into year-end
BSE Sensex, Nifty50 in party mode! Indian benchmark equity indices have hit new record highs on Wednesday, following gains in Asian markets. This came after China and Japan decided to keep interest rates unchanged. At 11:03 AM, BSE Sensex was up over 350 points at 71,796.77, up 0.50%. Nifty50 was up over 120 points or 0.57% at 21,574.75. BSE Sensex has till 11:00 AM hit an intraday high of 71,913, while Nifty50 has hit an intraday high of 21,593.
The Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain its dovish policy guidance and keep interest rates steady also contributed to the positive sentiment. Furthermore, strong domestic macroeconomic data, lower oil prices, sustained inflows from mutual fund investors, record foreign purchases, and an improving US rate outlook have supported the stock market rally.
Among the Sensex stocks, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, TCS, Reliance, Infosys, and HCL Tech opened in the green, while M&M, Maruti, and Sun Pharma opened in the red. Nippon Life India Asset Management saw an 8.2% rise in its shares as a block deal of 2.9% equity shares took place. Varun Beverages shares also opened nearly 18% higher after signing an MoU with the Jharkhand government for a manufacturing plant in Patratu with a total investment of Rs 450 crore.In terms of sectors, Nifty IT rose over 1%, while Nifty FMCG surged 0.95%. Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Media, Metal, Pharma, and Oil & Gas also opened higher. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 gained 0.66%, while Nifty Smallcap100 advanced 0.9%.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, stated that even as the holidays are fast approaching, the market is not in a holiday mood. It is consolidating, but at higher levels, he notes. The fact that the fear gauge – VIX – is at a low level of 12 is an indicator of the underlying strength of the market, he believes. He advised investors to focus on large-cap stocks for safety.
The Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain its dovish policy guidance and keep interest rates steady also contributed to the positive sentiment. Furthermore, strong domestic macroeconomic data, lower oil prices, sustained inflows from mutual fund investors, record foreign purchases, and an improving US rate outlook have supported the stock market rally.
Among the Sensex stocks, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, TCS, Reliance, Infosys, and HCL Tech opened in the green, while M&M, Maruti, and Sun Pharma opened in the red. Nippon Life India Asset Management saw an 8.2% rise in its shares as a block deal of 2.9% equity shares took place. Varun Beverages shares also opened nearly 18% higher after signing an MoU with the Jharkhand government for a manufacturing plant in Patratu with a total investment of Rs 450 crore.In terms of sectors, Nifty IT rose over 1%, while Nifty FMCG surged 0.95%. Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Media, Metal, Pharma, and Oil & Gas also opened higher. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 gained 0.66%, while Nifty Smallcap100 advanced 0.9%.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, stated that even as the holidays are fast approaching, the market is not in a holiday mood. It is consolidating, but at higher levels, he notes. The fact that the fear gauge – VIX – is at a low level of 12 is an indicator of the underlying strength of the market, he believes. He advised investors to focus on large-cap stocks for safety.
In global markets, Asian shares followed Wall Street’s upward trend as the year-end rate cut anticipation continued. Japan’s Nikkei surged 1.6%, reaching its highest level in about a month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1%, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6%. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.7%, achieving another all-time closing high, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.7% to reach its highest level since January. The S&P 500 gained 0.6%.
