Stocks on a roll: Sensex scales 65k peak for first time; Nifty settles at record high

New Delhi: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty soared to fresh closing record highs for the third successive session on Monday, with the 30-share index crossing the historic 65,000 mark on strong foreign fund flows and a rally in global equities. Hectic buying in index majors Reliance Industries, ITC and HDFC twins also added to the momentum, traders said. Rallying for the fourth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 486.49 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at its all-time closing high of 65,205.05. During the day, it rallied 581.79 points or 0.89 per cent to its lifetime intra-day high of 65,300.35.

In a reflection of broader investor bullishness, the 50-share Nifty surged to a record high as sectors ranging from energy to financials to FMCG rallied. The Nifty climbed 133.50 points or 0.70 per cent to end at a record high of 19,322.55. In intra-day trade, the benchmark zoomed 156.05 points or 0.81 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 19,345.10. "The market's record-breaking momentum continued as the robust June GST collections, and the monsoon covering most parts of the country in the last few days brought cheers to investors. The rally has been mostly due to strong foreign fund inflows and India performing well on most of the economic parameters could further strengthen the fund flows in the near term," Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd, said.

Market benchmarks settled at record highs for the third straight session on Monday. Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex chart, rising 2.53 per cent, followed by ITC, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, HDFC, UltraTech Cement, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank. In contrast, Power Grid, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Nestle and Tata Motors were among the laggards, skidding up to 1.86 per cent. As many as 1,972 stocks advanced while 1,721 declined and 147 remained unchanged on BSE. In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.56 per cent and the midcap index advanced 0.30 per cent. Among the indices, oil & gas jumped 2.28 per cent, energy rallied 2.08 per cent, metal (1.11 per cent), FMCG (1.09 per cent), financial services (1.02 per cent), realty (0.85 per cent), commodities (0.81 per cent) and bankex (0.78 per cent). Capital goods, auto, IT, teck, power and industrials were among the laggards. Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 15 paise to close at 81.96 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday.

"The Indian rupee advanced along with regional peers after the Fed's preferred inflation gauge eased last Friday. Asian shares rose Monday as positive momentum from gains on Wall Street and signs of moderating US inflation extended this year's rally in global stocks," Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green. Equity markets in Europe were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended significantly higher in the overnight trade on Friday. "Sentiments of investors are reinforced by positive domestic data and optimistic global cues. The global market was supported by resilient economic data, avoiding the possibility of a recession. India's stock market trend was broad-based, owing to the outperformance from energy, financial, metal, and FMCG sectors," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.97 per cent to USD 76.14 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 6,397.13 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. GST collections crossed Rs 1.60 lakh crore mark for the fourth time since the roll-out of the indirect tax regime, rising 12 per cent to over Rs 1.61 lakh crore in June, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday.

"The ongoing rally in the market has made valuations very rich. Nifty is trading at above 20 times the estimated FY 24 earnings. This is higher than the historical average. Momentum can take the market higher, but at high valuations risk is high. "Some presently unknown negative developments can trigger a sharp correction. So, even while remaining invested in the market, investors have to be cautious," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said. Due to robust profit growth potential and increased demand from domestic and global investors, Indian shares remain appealing despite high relative valuations. The premium over the historical average implies increased optimism about medium-term growth, Shantanu Bhargava, Managing Director, Head of Discretionary Investment Services, Waterfield Advisors, said. "Markets will be impacted in the near term by events such as the Fed's monetary policy stance, corporate earnings, and election results. However, the markets' vulnerability to foreign flows would be much lower, at least in the medium run. If a correction occurred because of foreign outflow - that could be an opportunity to invest in an otherwise extremely good underlying narrative," Bhargava added. Manufacturing sector activities in India moderated in June from a 31-month high in May, but output remained in the growth territory, as new work orders expanded sharply amid favourable demand conditions.