Healthy results, strong rupee lift indices to record levels

MUMBAI, July 26: Key Indian equity indices S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 settled at new record closing levels on Thursday as healthy corporate earnings and rupee appreciation boosted investors sentiments.

The two indices Sensex and Nifty closed at their benchmark settlement levels of 36,984.64 points and 11,167.30 points respectively, after setting fresh intra-day highs of 37,061.62 points and 11,185.85 points earlier in the day. According to analysts, volatility was witnessed in the market ahead of the expiry of July F&O derivatives.

Index-wise, the wider Nifty on the National Stock Exchange closed at 11,167.30 points, higher by 35.30 points or 0.32 per cent from its previous close of 11,132 points. The barometer Sensex on the BSE rose by 126.41 points or 0.34 per cent to close at its highest closing level of 36,984.64 points, against the previous close of 36,858.23 points. It touched an intra-day low of 36,852.53 points. In the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap rose by 0.76 per cent and the S&P BSE small-cap ended 0.31 per cent higher from its previous close. The BSE market breadth was tilted towards the bulls with 1,335 advances and 1,238 declines.

“Markets rallied on Thursday after taking a breather on Wednesday. It was a volatile session (in a range) as it was the derivative expiry day of the July near month series,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities. He said the indices ended with healthy gains as sentiments were boosted on the back of better-than-expected quarterly results from corporates.

BNP Paribas Mutual Fund’s Senior Fund Manager for Equities, Abhijeet Dey said: “Additionally, markets also heaved a sigh of relief at US President Donald Trump and the European Commission chief’s plan to ease trade tensions.” On the currency front, the rupee closed at 68.67, appreciating by 12 paise from the previous close of 68.79 per dollar. Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors bought scrip worth Rs 2,453.57 crore while the domestic institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 2,716.04 crore.

Sector-wise, the S&P BSE banking index gained the most, by 429.59 points, followed by the finance index, up 78.64 points and the healthcare index which rose by 55.09 points.

On the contrary, the S&P BSE IT index fell by 98.82 points, the metal index was down 84.59 and the consumer durables index ended lower by 83.94 points from its previous close.

The major gainers on the Sensex were State Bank of India, up 5.62 per cent at Rs 286.70; ICICI Bank, up 4.08 per cent at Rs 285.80; Power Grid, up 4.04 per cent at Rs 182.75; ONGC, up 1.98 per cent at Rs 162.15; and Axis Bank, up 1.84 per cent at Rs 541.65 per share. The top losers were Maruti Suzuki, down 3.70 per cent at Rs 9,396.65; Yes Bank, down 3.61 per cent at Rs 369.60; Asian Paints, down 1.23 per cent at Rs 1,432.50; Larsen and Toubro, down 1.06 per cent at Rs 1,306.05; and Tata Consultancy Services, down 0.81 per cent at Rs 1,963.305 per share. (IANS)