Benchmark stock market indices opened Monday’s trading session on a positive note, driven by positive developments in the US economy and sustained momentum from strong Q1 results.
The S&P BSE Sensex touched an all-time high of 81,720.25 at the opening bell, while the NSE Nifty50 rose to 24,980.45. There is a strong possibility that the Nifty50 may cross the 25,000 milestone during intraday trade today.
At around 9:20 AM, the Sensex was up 329.42 points, trading at 81,662.14, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 89.30 points, reaching 24,924.15.
Most of the other broader market indices also opened the trading session on a positive note, with small-cap stocks making a strong comeback as market investors ignored the recent capital gains announcement in Budget 2024.
The top five gainers on the Nifty50 were NTPC, BPCL, ICICI Bank, SBI and Shriram Finance. On the other hand, the top losers were Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Titan, Cipla, Tata Consumer Products and SBI Life.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “The undercurrent of this bull market has turned stronger on positive cues. The soft landing scenario for the US economy and the expectation of a rate cut by the Fed in September remain intact. This will provide global support to this bull market. The decline in the US 10-year bond yield to 4.17% and the decline in Brent crude to $81.2 are other supporting factors.”
“In a departure from recent trends both FIIs and DIIs turned buyers last Friday resulting in a total buying of Rs 5320 crores pushing the market sharply up. DIIs which were sitting on cash waiting for clarity on tax proposals in the Budget have started deploying funds, particularly in quality largecaps, which explains the sharp rally in the Nifty,” he added.
“In the current scenario, the market will likely ignore the valuation concerns and march ahead. ICICI bank has posted good Q1 numbers. The market is largely ignoring the good results of banking stocks on fears of potential margin compression due to slow growth in deposits.”