Mkts hit new peaks on foreign capital inflows

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty soared to new lifetime highs on Thursday, fuelled by intense buying in market heavyweights Reliance, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank amid a recent surge in foreign capital inflows. Besides, stable global crude prices extended support to capital markets amid investors looking for fresh triggers, traders said.

Rallying for the sixth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 141.34 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at a new closing peak of 77,478.93. During the day, it surged 305.5 points or 0.39 per cent to 77,643.09. The BSE benchmark has jumped 1,022.34 points or 1.33 per cent in the last six days. The NSE Nifty rose 51 points or 0.22 per cent to settle at its fresh closing high of 23,567. Intra-day, it soared 108 points or 0.45 per cent to 23,624.

As many as 2,282 stocks advanced, while 1,571 declined and 128 remained unchanged on the BSE.

“FIIs have been net buyers in Indian equities for the last three days and have bought Rs12,600 crore, which includes a few large block deals. On the domestic front, the market is consolidating with a positive bias amid strong FII flows and healthy macros. Also, an expectation of a growth-focused budget is aiding sentiments and is likely to lead to sector-specific action,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head (retail research), Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“Markets were a bit volatile in early trade, but settled in positive territory to move in a range-bound manner thereafter, as investors resorted to stock-specific selection after witnessing record-breaking spree over the past few sessions. Also, US indices were closed on Wednesday, and hence, domestic investors were cautiously optimistic,” adds Prashanth Tapse, senior V-P (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

“European stocks strengthened after the Swiss National Bank delivered a second interest rate cut of 25 bps to 1.25 per cent,” said Deepak Jasani, head (retail research) at HDFC Securities.

“The decline in US bond yields has facilitated robust FII inflows in recent days. In the near term, market attention is expected to centre around the upcoming Union Budget and the progress of monsoon,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.