Key indices scale new peak on TCS boost

Multiple Tailwinds:

• BSE Sensex jumped 622 pts or 0.78% to record closing of 80,519.34
• During the day, Sensex zoomed 996.17 pts or 1.24% to all-time high of 80,893.51
• NSE Nifty surged 186.20 pts or 0.77% to record closing high of 24,502.15
• Intra-day, Nifty jumped 276.25 pts or 1.13% to new peak of 24,592.20
• For the week, Sensex jumped 522.74 pts or 0.65%, while Nifty climbed 178.3 pts or 0.73%
• FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs1,137.01 cr on Thu

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty soared nearly one per cent to hit new lifetime highs on Friday, fuelled by intense buying in IT and tech stocks after robust TCS earnings amid hopes of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. A rally in Reliance Industries and Infosys also boosted investor sentiments, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 622 points or 0.78 per cent to settle at a record closing level of 80,519.34. During the day, it zoomed 996.17 points or 1.24 per cent to hit an all-time high of 80,893.51. NSE Nifty surged 186.20 points or 0.77 per cent to settle at a record closing high of 24,502.15. Intra-day, it jumped 276.25 points or 1.13 per cent to hit a new lifetime peak of 24,592.20. On a weekly basis, the BSE benchmark jumped 522.74 points or 0.65 per cent, while the Nifty climbed 178.3 points or 0.73 per cent.

“Multiple tailwinds led the market to come out of the range-bound trajectory. The strong result from the IT bellwether and a drop in US inflation to a one-year low added optimism to the market. The chances of a rate cut in September are inching higher, which is evident in the fall of the dollar index,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 0.22 per cent, while the smallcap index dipped 0.13 per cent.

“Nifty ended strong on July 12 led by Information Technology stocks after Tata Consultancy Services surprised the street with its Q1 results. Global stocks were mixed on Friday, after the latest US update on inflation bolstered Wall Street’s belief that relief on interest rates may come as soon as September,” said Deepak Jasani, head (retail research), HDFC Securities.

Among the indices, IT surged 4.32 per cent, teck zoomed 3.29 per cent, energy (0.13%), bankex (0.10%) and services (0.06%). In contrast, realty, power, metal, utilities, auto, industrials and consumer discretionary were among the laggards.

“On the global stage, the US core CPI inflation for June stood at 3 per cent, with consumer prices experiencing their first decline in four years as inflation eases. This data suggests that the Federal Reserve might implement one or two rate cuts by the end of the year. As the budget session approaches, the market is optimistic that the government will maintain its focus on infrastructure, defence, railways, and green energy,” added Krishna Appala, Senior Research Analyst, Capitalmind Research.