Renewed FII inflows take markets to record highs

Mumbai; Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty darted up to fresh lifetime highs on Friday, propelled by a rally in global markets and renewed foreign capital inflows. Besides, buying in telecom, auto and tech stocks also helped markets to settle with gains, traders said. Rallying for the 11th day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 319.63 points or 0.47 per cent to settle at a record closing of 67,838.63. During the day, it rallied 408.23 points or 0.60 per cent to hit its fresh all-time intra-day high of 67,927.23. The Nifty went up by 89.25 points or 0.44 per cent to end at its all-time closing high of 20,192.35. During the day, it advanced 119.35 points or 0.59 per cent to hit its lifetime intra-day peak of 20,222.45.

“Nifty scaled fresh life highs on Friday, rising for the third consecutive session to end at a record close. Sensex rose for the 11th day, the longest streak of gains since October 2007,” Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,239.72 points or 1.86 per cent, and the Nifty climbed 372.4 points or 1.87 per cent.

“Domestic equities continued their winning streak following their global peers boosted by better-than-expected Chinese and US economic data as well as optimism that the European Central Bank may be close to peak interest rates,” adds Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

“Global equities rose Friday after better-than-expected Chinese economic data added to expectations that tightening campaigns by the world’s biggest central banks were close to over,” Jasani said. “The market is inching towards a new direction with renewed buying in auto and IT stocks in expectation of strong festive demand and a strong deal wins. Better-than-expected economic data from China and stimulus hopes further added optimism in global markets. The ECB (European Central Bank) hinted at a potential pause in rates due to receding inflation, while investors are now focused on central bank meetings next week, with the US FED, BoE (Bank of England), and BoJ (Bank of Japan) set to announce their rate decisions,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

“Further lower CPI and wholesale inflation in India are comforting amid the global inflationary scenario. Thus, we expect the overall positive momentum to continue, especially in the large-cap, while sectoral rotation is likely to be seen in the broader market. Next week, the US interest rate decision is due where the Fed is expected to take a pause, which might bring relief to the global markets,” Khemka said.