Sensex closes above 67,000 aided by sustained foreign fund inflows

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

shares extend gains for the fifth straight session aided by sustained foreign fund inflows. Gains in Reliance Industries ahead of the demerger of the financial services arm, ITC, financial heavyweights, cement, and consumer durables helped the Sensex close above 67,000 for the first time. Gains were, however, limited as investors remained concerned about India's stock market valuations.

The Sensex topped 67,171 on Wednesday, surpassing Tuesday's all-time high of 67,007. The index closed at 67,097, up 302.30 points or 0.45% from the previous closing high of 66,795. The Nifty scaled a new high of 19,851, beating its previous high of 19,819.

The gauge of top 50 companies, by market value, closed at 19,833, up 83.90 points, or 0.42%, from its previous close. «Where else do you park your money? For global investors, this is a big question right now but what it essentially highlights is India's fundamentals and growth potential (among global peers),» Pratik Gupta, CEO, Kotak Institutional Equities. On Wednesday, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the cash segment for the fifth session in a row.

Overseas investors bought shares worth ₹1,165.47 crore, showed provisional data from the stock exchanges. Since the lows of March this year, FPIs have pumped in over ₹82,000 crore in Indian equities. This has helped benchmark indices surge nearly 18% in the last four months and outperformed global peers.

Gupta said there is still a lot of foreign money waiting on the sidelines. Foreign investors prefer to 'sell China if that market rallies and buy India if our market corrects', he said. He, however, warned that valuations have run above India's own historical valuations, global peers as well as most other asset