Sensex skyrockets 553 points to hit record closing high of 40,268; Nifty at lifetime peak of 12,089

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty on Monday logged their fresh lifetime closing highs on buying across the sectors, triggered by hopes of further rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and continuity in reform measures by the new Central government. The 30-share BSE Sensex zoomed over 553 points to close at a record high of 40,267.62; while the 50-share Nifty surged nearly 166 points to settle at 12,088.55 — all-time closing peak for the index. On Monday, both the Sensex and Nifty surpassed their previous closing highs of 39,832 and 11,946 respectively that were touched on 30 May, 2019. Both indices also clocked their intra-day record highs by briefly touching 40,308.90 and 12,103.05, respectively, during the session.

Sensex at 40,061.53, up by 347.33 points. pic.twitter.com/Rp3zk5EGHG

— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2019

Market analysts said Indian markets went against the trend seen on other bourses as investors were buoyed by falling crude oil prices, foreign fund inflows and hopes of rate cut by the Reserve Bank. Besides, market participants are expecting more strong reform measures by the new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government after a landslide victory in the general election, they added. The Sensex majorly gained riding on a significant rally in heavyweights like HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and TCS. In percentage terms, however, Hero MotoCorp topped the Sensex chart by surging 6.01 percent. Other major gainers were Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, HUL, and Maruti, rallying up to 3.92 percent. Barring ICICI Bank, NTPC and ITC, all Sensex constituents ended in the green. [caption id=“attachment_6669071” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. Reuters[/caption] Sectorally, BSE auto, healthcare, energy, consumer durables and metal were the top performers – rising as much as 1.93 percent. All the 19 sectoral indices closed with gains. However, broader indices BSE midcap with 0.90 percent rise and smallcap with 0.48 percent gains underperformed the benchmark Sensex. The BSE gauge swung 598 points during the session and finally settled 553.42 points, or 1.39 percent, higher at 40,267.62. The broader NSE benchmark surged 165.75 points, or 1.39 per cent, to settle at 12,088.55. According to experts, investors lapped up stocks amid expectations of an interest rate cut by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) this week, especially after a disappointing GDP print for the March quarter. Data from Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that India’s economic growth rate slowed to five-year low of 5.8 percent during January-March quarter of 2018-19. The growth rate of the economy has weakened mainly due to poor performance in the farm sector as well as in the manufacturing sector. The RBI may go for another round of rate cut, third in a row, on Thursday to prop up the economic growth which dropped to a five-year low in the final quarter of 2018-19, experts said. The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is slated to announce its bi-monthly policy Thursday. The central bank had cut the short-term lending rate (repo rate) by 25 basis points each in its last two policy reviews. The MPC headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will meet for three days beginning 3 June to firm up the second bi-monthly monetary policy of the fiscal. Besides, a strengthening rupee too boosted investor sentiment here, traders said. The rupee appreciated by 44 paise to 69.26 against the US dollar on Monday. Continuing the upbeat trend, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs 3,068.88 crore on Monday, provisional data available with exchanges showed. Meanwhile, other Asian bourses ended on a mixed note, while Europe was trading in the red in opening deals. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.39 percent to 62.23 per barrel. Top Sensex gainers include Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, HUL, Maruti, Coal India, HDFC twins, RIL and TCS, rallying up to 5 percent. While, ITC, L&T and NTPC slipped up to 0.29 percent. According to traders, investors are lapping up stocks amid expectations of an interest rate cut by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) this week. Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Monday, extending losses of over 3 percent from Friday, when crude markets slipped to their biggest monthly losses in six months amid stalling demand and as trade wars fanned fears of a global economic slowdown. The drops followed price slumps of more than 3 percent on Friday, which made May the worst-performing month for crude futures since last November. Earlier, Sensex rallied over 200 points in early trade on Monday driven by gains in financial stocks ahead of the Reserve Bank’s bi-monthly policy review. — With PTI inputs