The benchmark indices climbed for the fourth straight session on Thursday to lifetime highs, led by gains in IT stocks and buying by overseas investors.
There’s growing optimism that the US Fed would cut interest rates in September. A rise in India’s GDP forecast by both IMF and ADB also supported the market.
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The Sensex rebounded after initial losses to end with gains of 626 points or 0.8 per cent to end at 81,343, while the Nifty gained 187 points to 24,800. Cash market volumes on the NSE rose 18 per cent to ₹1.48-lakh crore. Broad market indices ended in the negative even as the advance decline ratio fell sharply to 0.47:1.
FPIs bought shares worth ₹5,483 crore, provisional data show.
Top gainers
Top Nifty gainers include LTIMindtree (3.5 per cent), TCS (3.3 per cent), ONGC (2.8 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (2.6 per cent) and Wipro (2.4 per cent). Top losers include Coal India (1.4 per cent) and Asian Paints (1.44 per cent). Buying was seen in IT, FMCG, financials, and auto. The IT sector gained more than 2 per cent after LTI Mindtree reported better-than-expected Q1FY25 results.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: “The frontline indices firmed up in the second half, reaching fresh highs driven by renewed buying in IT stocks. Investor optimism for the sector grew after strong performance reports from the country’s leading IT firms in the June quarter, coupled with a weakening rupee. The broader market, however, lagged the major indices due to high valuations and sectoral rotation, which is influenced by anticipated improvements in private consumption, particularly in rural areas.”
Asian equities mostly fell Thursday, with losses focussed on technology and chipmaking shares as the threat of more US restrictions on China ramped up concerns over a renewed trade war between the countries. European shares however rose as gains in energy overshadowed falls in technology stocks, while investors focussed on the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision.
A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart after the formation of back-to-back two doji type candle patterns. “This is a positive indication and indicates upside breakout of small range movement,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.
“Nifty is advancing towards a key overhead resistance of 24960. One may expect volatility around 24950-25000 levels in the short term,” he said.