The Indian stock market displayed positive momentum in the Thursday trading session despite a dull start. The benchmark indices, Nifty and Sensex attained record-high levels.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 index 0.4 per cent higher at 25,151, while the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex also settled 350 points higher at 81,134 levels on the closing bell.
Nifty Moves
In the Nifty 50 index, 30 stocks advanced in the positive territory, and 19 stocks ended in the red territory, while SBI Life remained unchanged.
Among the winners Tata Motors surged more than 4 per cent to top the index. Bajaj Finserv, BPCL, Bajaj Finance and Britannia gained more than 2 per cent.
Among the losers, Grasim Industries plunged 1.45 per cent, while Mahindra & Mahindra and JSW Steel lost more than 1 per cent.
Analyst Note
“Markets were back in action on the expiry day after range-bound sessions, as benchmark indices hit fresh intraday lifetime highs led by gains in Reliance Industries, which announced a 1:1 bonus issue. Markets were volatile and had slipped into the red in mid-session, but rebounded in late trades as investors cheered the bonus issue announcement by Reliance in its AGM which led to buying action in other select frontline stocks,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.
“Indian equities began steadily and breached a record high. Volatility disturbed the trend in the afternoon due to Reliance AGM expectations, but the broad market carried the rally to a new high by the end of the day with rapid improvement in sentiment. The recent uptick in Indian IT and FMCG stocks points to a potential soft landing for the US economy and an improvement in domestic rural consumption,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Sectoral Movement
In terms of sectoral performance, Nifty Bank ended flat but Financial Services gained 0.26 per cent, while PSU Banks ended with 0.16 per cent gain.
Auto and IT climbed almost half a per cent, while Metal shredded 0.48 per cent. Nifty Realty lost marginally and Pharma dipped 0.48 per cent. Among all the sectoral indices FMCG led with a gain of 0.72 per cent.
The more domestically focussed indices, Mid-cap dipped 0.44 per cent, whereas Small-cap dipped 0.54 per cent.