Sensex, Nifty hit fresh lifetime highs as telecom, auto shares advance

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty darted up to fresh lifetime highs on Friday, propelled by a rally in global markets and renewed foreign capital inflows.

Besides, buying in telecom, auto and tech stocks also helped markets to settle with gains, traders said.

Rallying for the 11th day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 319.63 points or 0.47 per cent to settle at a record closing of 67,838.63. During the day, it rallied 408.23 points or 0.60 per cent to hit its fresh all-time intra-day high of 67,927.23.

The Nifty went up by 89.25 points or 0.44 per cent to end at its all-time closing high of 20,192.35. During the day, it advanced 119.35 points or 0.59 per cent to hit its lifetime intra-day peak of 20,222.45.

"Nifty scaled fresh life highs on Friday, rising for the third consecutive session to end at a record close. Sensex rose for the 11th day, the longest streak of gains since October 2007," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,239.72 points or 1.86 per cent, and the Nifty climbed 372.4 points or 1.87 per cent.

"Domestic equities continued their winning streak following their global peers boosted by better-than-expected Chinese and US economic data as well as optimism that the European Central Bank may be close to peak interest rates," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

Bharti Airtel was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 2.37 per cent, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank and Nestle.

Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv and NTPC were among the laggards.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.27 per cent, and midcap index gained 0.09 per cent.

Among the indices, telecommunication jumped 1.67 per cent, auto rallied 1.48 per cent, teck (1.07 per cent), IT (0.76 per cent) and consumer discretionary (0.61 per cent).

Commodities, FMCG, utilities, services and oil & gas were the laggards.

"Global equities rose Friday after better-than-expected Chinese economic data added to expectations that tightening campaigns by the world’s biggest central banks were close to over," Jasani said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended with gains, while Shanghai settled lower.

European equities were trading in the green. The US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Thursday as they bought equities worth Rs 294.69 crore, according to exchange data.

"The market is inching towards a new direction with renewed buying in auto and IT stocks in expectation of strong festive demand and a strong deal wins. Better-than-expected economic data from China and stimulus hopes further added optimism in global markets.

"The ECB (European Central Bank) hinted at a potential pause in rates due to receding inflation, while investors are now focused on central bank meetings next week, with the US FED, BoE (Bank of England), and BoJ (Bank of Japan) set to announce their rate decisions," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.26 per cent to USD 93.94 a barrel.

"Further lower CPI and wholesale inflation in India are comforting amid the global inflationary scenario.

"Thus, we expect the overall positive momentum to continue, especially in the large-cap, while sectoral rotation is likely to be seen in the broader market. Next week, the US interest rate decision is due where the Fed is expected to take a pause, which might bring relief to the global markets," Khemka said.