US Fed's dovish stance ignites rally; Key indices basking in record highs

The BSE Sensex surged 765 points, while the NSE Nifty cruised past the 16,900-level on Monday as equity benchmarks maintained their record-setting spree on all-round buying amid supportive global cues.

A firm trend in the rupee, which rallied 40 paise against the US dollar, added to the momentum. After touching a lifetime high of 56,958.27 during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 765.04 points or 1.36 per cent higher at its new closing peak of 56,889.76, extending its winning run for the third session. The broader NSE Nifty advanced for the sixth consecutive day, surging 225.85 points or 1.35 per cent to its record closing of 16,931.05 points. It touched an all-time intra-day high of 16,951.50. The Nifty has closed at fresh lifetime highs in five of the previous six sessions.

"Domestic equities skyrocketed on strong global cues with benchmark Nifty is just one notch away to surpass 17,000 mark. Dovish commentary from US Federal Reserve chairman in Jackson Hole Symposium lifted investors' sentiments globally. Financial and metals witnessed sharp recovery. Barring IT, most key sectoral indices traded in green with decent rebound. Strong buying in midcap and smallcap stocks continued as recent correction made risk reward propositions favourable for investors," said Binod Modi, head (strategy) at Reliance Securities.

"Following a strong gap-up opening, equity benchmark indices maintained the trend throughout the day in line with the strength in global markets. Global markets strengthened as the anxiety over the Jackson Hole symposium subsided following the dovish tone of the Fed Chair. Jerome Powell stated sticking with the wait-and-see approach giving reassurance that the easy money policy will continue this year with a smaller rate of tapering," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

Bharti Airtel was the top performer in the Sensex pack, rallying 4.44 per cent, after the company's board raising up to Rs 21,000 crore via a rights issue. Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and SBI were among the other prominent gainers, spurting up to 4.15 per cent. Only four index components ended in the red -- Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Infosys and TCS, sliding up to 1.88 per cent. Investors were richer by Rs 3.56 lakh crore, with the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies reaching a record Rs 247.30 lakh crore.

Sectorally, BSE telecom, metal, power, basic materials, utilities and bankex rallied as much as 3.53 per cent, while IT and teck closed lower. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices surged up to 1.72 per cent. World stocks were boosted by dovish comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with