Stock markets: Driven by foreign fund inflows, Sensex & Nifty touch all-time high; Rupee falls against dollar

Stock markets: Driven by foreign fund inflows and optimism in the US markets, equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued their dream run on Wednesday, reaching record-high levels in early trade. Buying in index majors Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank also helped the markets maintain their winning momentum.

Rallying for the fifth day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 293.59 points to reach its new all-time intra-day peak of 67,088.73 in early trade. The NSE Nifty gained 80.3 points to hit a record intra-day high of 19,829.55.

From the Sensex pack, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were the biggest gainers.

IndusInd Bank quoted nearly 2 per cent higher after the company on Tuesday reported a 30 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for April-June at Rs 2,124.50 crore, helped by core income growth and lower bad loan provisions.

Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel and Nestle were among the laggards. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 2,115.84 crore, according to exchange data.

“The market continues to be resilient, supported by the favourable global set-up and sustained FII inflows. It is important to understand that the ongoing global market rally is primarily driven by the strength of the US economy, which is, so far, showing no signs of recession that the markets had feared and discounted in 2022,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

How did Asia, US markets fare? 

In India, an extra push is being provided by sustained FII flows, Vijayakumar said. In Asian markets, Tokyo quoted in the green while Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded lower. The US markets ended in positive territory on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.21 per cent to USD 79.46 a barrel. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday retained India’s economic growth forecast at 6.4 per cent for the current financial year and 6.7 per cent for the next, saying robust domestic demand will continue to support the region’s recovery.

The BSE benchmark had climbed 205.21 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at its new all-time high of 66,795.14 on Tuesday. Nifty gained 37.80 points or 0.19 per cent to end at its all-time high of 19,749.25.

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Rupee falls against dollar 

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 8 paise to 82.12 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas markets. Traders said domestic equity benchmarks scaling all-time high levels and sustained foreign fund inflows boosted investor sentiments and restricted the depreciating bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.08, then touched 82.12, registering a decline of 8 paise over its last close. On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 82.04 against the dollar.

The rupee opened a bit lower as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continues its US dollar buying spree below 82, Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP said. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 100.01 on good retail sales data from the US.

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