Indian shares extend gains for fifth session; Nifty 50 scales new peak
By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares extended gains for the fifth straight session on Monday, with the blue-chip Nifty 50 index hitting a record high, led by financials and energy stocks.
The jump marks the sixth instance of the Nifty 50 rising to a new all-time high in 2024.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose as much as 0.66% to a record level of 22,186.65, before settling 0.37% higher at 22,122.25. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.39% to 72,708.16, about 1% shy of an all-time high of 73,427.59.
Both the Nifty 50 and Sensex have advanced for five consecutive sessions, adding about 2.3% each, displaying resilience to hot U.S. inflation data, unlike other Asian peers. [MKTS/GLOB]
"Everything looks favourable, be it the strong macro-economic fundamentals, in-line earnings season or the robust retail inflows that have powered Indian markets," said Abhijit Bhave, managing director and chief executive at Equirus Wealth.
Bhave expects domestic equities to continue rising leading up to the federal elections in mid-2024, undeterred by the potential delay in Federal Reserve rate cut, given that investors have priced in the higher-for-longer rate outlook in the U.S.
Ten of the 13 major sectors logged gains, with highest-weighted financials climbing 0.37%.
Oil and gas index rose 0.55% on the day, after adding 57% over the last 16 weeks.
Both upstream and downstream oil companies are benefitting from a robust up-cycle in oil and gas markets and stable crude prices, which have boosted volumes and marketing margins, said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
ITC, which had dropped around 14% over the last four weeks, rebounded 1.15%, leading gains in the consumer index, which increased 0.79%.
Pharma index added 0.88%, led by post-results rally in Natco Pharma which rose 4.22%.
The more domestically-focussed small- and mid-caps added about 0.40% each, mirroring the benchmarks.
($1 = 83.0000 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Sonia Cheema and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
