Global cues push Sensex, Nifty to new record highs

Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Positive global cues and optimism over the upcoming quarterly earning results pushed the Indian equity markets to new closing highs on Wednesday.

Besides, the NSE Nifty touched a new record high level of intra-day trade at 9,367 points. The BSE Sensex also effected a new record high of 30,167 points during intra-day trade.

Apart from positive global cues, appreciation in the rupee supported the rally in equity markets.

The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed the day's trade higher by 45.25 points or 0.49 per cent at 9,351.85 points -- a new closing high.

The NSE Nifty had touched a new high of 9,309.20 points (intra-day) on Tuesday.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which opened at 30,030.20 points, closed trade at 30,133.35 points -- up 190.11 points or 0.63 per cent from its previous close at 29,943.24 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 30,167.09 points and a low of 29,968.57 points during the intra-day trade.

The barometer's previous record high stood at 30,024.74 points which was reached on March 4, 2015.

In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index, however, closed lower by 0.12 per cent, while the small-cap index dipped by 0.63 per cent.

"Markets rallied further on Wednesday with the Nifty and Sensex closing at new highs. It was the third consecutive session of gains for the Nifty," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

"The session was filled with volatility as key benchmark indices sharply pared gains in mid-afternoon trade after hitting fresh intra-day high earlier in the day and later recovering again towards the close."

Jasani observed that major Asian markets have ended on a positive note, whereas European indices like FTSE 100 and DAX traded lower.

According to Anand James, Chief Market Strategist of Geojit Financial Services, global positivity helped the rally to sustain early in the day, though derivatives expiry led to volatility which prompted long liquidation in the closing hour.

"Niti Aayog's stress on the need for lower land prices for affordable housing may have put pressure on realty, while RBI favouring more consolidation of PSBs helped BankNifty to continue its outperformance over benchmark index," James explained.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee, appreciated by 15 paise to 64.12 per dollar from its previous close of 64.26-27 to a greenback.

In terms of investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold scrip worth Rs 492.52 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased scrip worth Rs 1,011.38 crore.

"Power and oil-gas sector stocks faced resistance at higher levels and traded mixed due to profit bookings," said Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls.

"Banking stocks witnessed strong buying throughout the session. FMCG sector stocks complimented the firmness of the market. Most IT stocks underperformed the equity markets to trade with bearish sentiments."

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE FMCG index surged by 191.44 points, followed by the metal index, which added 53.09 points, and the finance index, which gained 37.54 points.

In contrast, oil and gas index dropped by 148.20 points, the IT index was lower by 105.33 points and the consumer durables index was down by 95.09 points.

Company-wise, major Sensex gainers on Wednesday were: ITC, up 3.36 per cent at Rs 290.65; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), up 3.29 per cent at Rs 1,350.55; HDFC, up 2.36 per cent at Rs 1,585; Hindustan Unilever, up 1.82 per cent at Rs 940.85; and ICICI Bank, up 1.61 per cent at Rs 276.95.

Major Sensex losers were: Adani Ports, down 2.28 per cent at Rs 324; Infosys, down 1.61 per cent at Rs 914.05; DrReddy's Lab, down 1.31 per cent at Rs 2,611.05; PowerGrid, down 1.30 per cent at Rs 205.25; and Reliance Industries, down 1.13 per cent at Rs 1,416.35.