Positive sentiment in the stock market, thanks to passage of the GST Bill, the BJP’s victories in the recent Assembly elections and improved macro-economic numbers, saw key market indices hit new highs on Wednesday.

While the BSE Sensex scaled the 30,000 mark intra-day, the Nifty50 hit new highs during the day, largely led by Reliance Industries.

However, the indices ended with modest gains due to selling pressure on HDFC, ITC and select information technology stocks.

While the Sensex ended 64.02 points or 0.2 per cent higher, at 29,974.24, the Nifty rose 27.3 points or 0.3 per cent, to 9,265.15.

The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap rising 0.77 per cent and Smallcap, 1.29 percent.

“The Sensex crossing the 30,000 mark is in line with overall positive sentiment in the market, which has been riding on the passage of the GST Bill and the strengthened position of the government after the Assembly elections,” said Kunj Bansal, Executive Director and CEO, equity, at Centrum Broking.

“The improved macroeconomic numbers, such as sharp reduction in the current account deficit, are resulting in a lot of funds flowing into Indian equity — both from domestic and global institutions,” he added.

Reliance Industries, the oil-to-telecom conglomerate, continued to fire up the market. The RIL stock crossed ₹1,400, gaining 3.4 per cent intra-day on the BSE, driven by continued buying interest after the positive response to the Jio Prime membership offer.

The company’s market capitalisation, at ₹4.6 lakh crore, is now very close to that of Tata Consultancy Services, currently India’s most valued company, .

Dharmesh Kant, Head, Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Securities, expects the market to strengthen further and the Nifty to hit 10,000 levels in FY18 as the macro backdrop remains conducive. “The fiscal and monetary metrics are encouraging, and the BJP’s strong showing in the recent polls should provide tailwinds for further reforms,” he said.

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