Renewed FII Inflows Further Spur Key Indices Up

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty surged nearly one per cent on Friday, marking their fifth day of rise on the back of fresh foreign fund inflows and gains in bank stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 557.45 points or 0.73 per cent to settle at 76,905.51. During the day, it surged 693.88 points or 0.90 per cent to 77,041.94. The NSE Nifty climbed 159.75 points or 0.69 per cent to 23,350.40. Experts said the US Fed has suggested the possibility of two rate cuts this year reigniting the optimism in the domestic market. On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark gauge surged 3,076.6 points or 4.16 per cent, and the Nifty jumped 953.2 points or 4.25 per cent. The market capitalization (mcap) of BSE-listed entities rose by Rs4.69 lakh crore to Rs4,13,30,624.05 crore (Rs413.30 lakh cr or $4.79 trn).

“FIIs, whose selling activity has been waning, are becoming net buyers, driven by dovish signals from the US Fed, which suggest the possibility of two rate cuts this year. This has reignited optimism in the domestic market,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs3,239.14 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 2.05 per cent and midcap index rallied 1.14 per cent.

“Markets extended their winning streak for the fifth consecutive session, gaining over half a per cent. The positive sentiment prevailed from the start and strengthened further with broad-based participation. As a result, Nifty tested the 23,400 mark before settling at 23,350.40 level,” added Ajit Mishra, sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.