Bulls on the Street: D-St indices scale fresh highs

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Nifty closed above 19,000 and the Sensex settled above 64,000 for the first time, led by financials, automobiles and IT shares. The gauge of top 50 Indian companies hit a high of 19,201.70 before closing at 19,189.05, up 216.95 points or 1.14% from the previous close. The Sensex closed at 64,718.56, up 803.14 points or 1.26% from Wednesday's close, the biggest single-day gain since March 31.

The index topped 64,768.58 in early trade. The markets were closed on Thursday for Eid. The record-breaking rally saw market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms hit a new high of ₹296.48 trillion ($3.6 trillion), exchange data showed.

«A lot of foreign institutional buying has given a fillip to the market,» said UR Bhat, cofounder and director, Alphaniti Fintech. «India continues to outshine other economies and is attracting global attention amid all the gloom and doom whether it is inflation, global central bank action or geopolitical tensions.» On Friday, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers of Indian shares for the third straight session after being net sellers in the three prior ones. Overseas funds purchased equities worth a net ₹6,397.13 crore in the cash segment.

Since the lows of March 2023, FPIs have been net buyers of shares worth nearly Rs 63,000 crore, helping benchmark indices climb over 13% in the past three months. Even domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,197.64 crore, showed provisional stock exchange data. Since the start of the year, the benchmark indices have risen 5-6%, outperforming China.