 "Representational Photo")
India’s markets climbed to fresh records on Thursday as the Nifty-50 surpassed its September 2024 peak to reach an all-time high of 26,306.95 while the Sensex crossed the 86,000-mark for the first time to touch 86,026.18.
At 10:15 am, the Sensex was up 318.71 points (0.37 per cent) at 85,928.22 and the Nifty-50 gained 71.10 points (0.28 per cent) to 26,278.40.
A surge in consumption driven by festivals and GST cuts, expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut, and hopes of a Ukraine-Russia peace deal are among the factors lifting investor sentiment. Foreign portfolio investors have continued their buying streak in recent days.
The recent consumption-led rise in spending has made investors optimistic about strong quarterly earnings growth.
“The consumption boom witnessed in October will translate into impressive earnings growth. If the trend sustains, even with slight moderation after the festival season, earnings growth, going forward, will be good warranting a rally in the market. But there is no room for a sharp sustaining uptrend since valuations do not support that. Expectation of a rate cut by the Fed and a possible Russia-Ukraine peace accord have improved sentiments for equity markets globally,” Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, told Moneycontrol.
Among Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Asian Paints and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the biggest gainers.
The trend is not unique to India. As Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, noted, global equity markets have extended their gains, buoyed by growing expectations of interest-rate cuts by the Fed.
“Major US indices —including the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq— posted another session of solid advances as softer Treasury yields and renewed policy optimism strengthened risk appetite. This upbeat sentiment has carried into today’s global trade, with Asian markets opening higher,” Ponmudi told PTI.