Indian equity benchmarks Nifty and Sensex opened at record highs on Friday, buoyed by positive global cues, strong domestic economic outlook, and substantial foreign investment inflows. The Nifty 50 index opened at 25,249.70, while the Sensex began trading at 82,637.03.
The market rally was fueled by Moody’s raising India’s 2024 GDP growth forecast to 7.2 per cent from 6.8 per cent earlier. Investors also reacted positively to better-than-expected US GDP data, which grew at a 3 per cent annualized rate in the second quarter.
“This Friday, the Nifty may surge to new record highs, with Dalal Street poised for a strong rally,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd. He cited key catalysts including “Moody’s raising India’s 2024 GDP growth forecast to 7.2 per cent, Mukesh Ambani’s AI-led roadmap for Reliance Industries, substantial FII buying, positive global cues, and upbeat US GDP data.”
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹3,259 crore on August 29, while Domestic Institutional Investors bought equities worth ₹2,690 crore on the same day.
At 9.45 am, the top gainers on the NSE were Hero MotoCorp (up 2.16 per cent), BPCL (up 1.70 per cent), Titan (up 1.43 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (up 1.21 per cent), and Asian Paints (up 1.19 per cent). The top losers included Tata Motors (down 1.12 per cent), Shriram Finance (down 0.68 per cent), LTIMindtree (down 0.60 per cent), Bajaj Auto (down 0.53 per cent), and Reliance Industries (down 0.38 per cent).
Sectors showing strength included oil and gas, capital goods, and power. “Data localization to drive demand for 6.2GWh energy in respect of transactions and 30GW of power demand from digital technology platforms. Capital goods and Power sector is the biggest beneficiary,” noted Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory at PL Capital - Prabhudas Lilladher.
The IT sector also saw positive momentum following encouraging comments from L&T Tech and HCL Tech during analyst meetings.
In the commodities market, gold prices held near record highs. Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities Ltd, stated, “Gold has support levels at $2,498-$2,478, with resistance at $2,535-$2,551.” Crude oil prices remained volatile, with Brent crude trading above $79.5 per barrel.
Investors are now eyeing the release of India’s GDP and infrastructure output data later in the day, as well as the US PCE inflation data. These economic indicators could provide further direction to the markets in the coming sessions.