Benchmark indices resumed the rally in Thursday’s trade and ended higher after hitting record highs on positive global cues following a 50 basis point cut by the United States Federal Reserve.
Sensex jumped to its record high of 83,773.61 before ending at 83,184.80 with a gain of 237 points, or 0.29%. The Nifty 50 rose to its fresh high of 25,611.95 but settled 38 points, or 0.15%, higher at 25,415.80.
As the day progressed, Nifty erased some of the intraday gains amid selling seen in the broader indices to settle at 25,415.80, up 38.25 points or 0.15%, forming a Shooting Star candlestick pattern.
BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropped 0.53% and 1.06%, respectively, as investors booked profits amid concerns over rich valuations.
Due to the fall in the mid and small-cap segment and small gains in the Sensex, the overall market capitalisation of the firms listed on the BSE dropped to nearly Rs 465.7 lakh crore from Rs 467.7 lakh crore in the previous session.
On Sensex, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC, Reliance Industries, and Bharti Airtel were the top contributors. Losses in heavyweight stocks like Larsen & Toubro, TCS, and HCL Tech limited the overall rise of the benchmark index.
NTPC stood as the top gainer of Nifty with a gain of 2.3%. Other significant gainers included Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan Company, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Nestle India, Tata Consumer Products, Maruti Suzuki India, and Bajaj Auto, all of which experienced gains between 0.8% and 1.7%.
Info Edge surged 1.7% during the session after Bank of America (BofA) upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘underperform’ translating to a double upgrade amid robust growth prospects.
Shares of IREDA jumped 1.24% after DIPAM gave its thumbs up for IREDA to raise to Rs 4,500 crore in a fresh equity share issue through a QIP.
DCX Systems gained 1.7% after the company announced it had received an export order from Israel’s Elta System worth Rs 154.80 crore.
ONGC shares fell 1.3% after HSBC downgraded the stock to a ‘Reduce’ due to falling oil prices and its impact on the company’s future project viability.
Markets in Europe and Asia recorded healthy gains as investors cheered the start of the US rate-cut cycle. For India, Fed rate cuts trigger an inflow of foreign capital, which bodes well for the market.