Key Indian equity indices -- the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty -- closed at new highs on Wednesday, on reports that the government's weather forecaster has predicted healthy monsoon rains.The boost in market sentiments came after news reports quoted a top India Meteorological Department (IMD) official forecasting a higher rainfall than previously forecast as the El Nino weather condition had eased. Earlier, the IMD had predicted 96 per cent of the annual average of rains.According to market observers, inflow of foreign funds and healthy buying in automobile, FMCG and healthcare stocks, too, supported the upward trajectory.The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) crossed the 9,400-mark for the first time ever to close at 9,407.30 points -- up 90.45 points or 0.97 per cent.Similarly, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE closed at a new high of 30,248.17 points -- up 314.92 points or 1.05 per cent from its previous close at 29,933.25 points.The benchmark indices also saw record intra-day highs, as well as their new 52-week highs.The NSE Nifty touched a new intra-day high of 9,414.75 points and the BSE Sensex of 30,271.60 points.In terms of the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index surged by 0.87 per cent while the small-cap index rose by 0.75 per cent."Both the Nifty and the Sensex touched record highs today.
Expectation of above average monsoons was one of the main triggers for the upmove today," Deepak Jasani, Head (Retail Research), HDFC Securities, told IANS."Today's upmove was mainly led by broad based buying in major sectors like telecom, oil and gas, automobile, FMCG and pharma sectors."Anand James, Chief Market Strategist of Geojit Financial Services, said: "IMD's bullish monsoon forecast eased concerns over El Nino weather conditions and added further legs to the ongoing rally. Earnings positivity has obviously been keeping markets buoyant and prospects of FIIs (foreign institutional investors) turning buyers in equities also pushed markets higher.""Financial services stocks were also seen rallying, reflecting markets' expectations for further strength in equities.In investments, provisional data with the exchanges showed that FIIs purchased stocks worth Rs 893.36 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) divested scrip worth Rs 229.73 crore.According to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, the equity benchmark indices traded with firm sentiments and touched fresh all time high levels during the intra-day session."
Banking sector stocks traded with mixed sentiments throughout the session due to profit booking. IDBI Bank lost as much as 5 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) invoked its so-called prompt corrective action (PCA) framework on the bank because of its rising bad loans and negative return on assets," Desai told IANS."Telecom and media-entertainment stocks complimented the firmness of the Indian equity markets. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Maruti Suzuki registered fresh all-time high levels.Sectorwise, the S&P BSE automobile index augmented by 333.39 points, followed by the FMCG index by 169.23 points and the healthcare index by 139.17 points.On the other hand, the S&P BSE IT index fell by 41.21 points and the realty index by 3.13 points.Major Sensex gainers on Wednesday were: Bharti Airtel, up 7.87 per cent at Rs 372.70; HUL, up 4.60 per cent at Rs 995.90; HDFC, up 3.25 per cent at Rs 1,572.80; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), up 2.59 per cent at Rs 1,376.70, and Reliance Industries, up 2.17 per cent at Rs 1,359.50.Major Sensex losers were: Wipro, down 1.64 per cent at Rs 500.35; Asian Paints, down 1.14 per cent at Rs 1,151.90; ICICI Bank, down 0.91 per cent at Rs 298.55; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), down 0.86 per cent at Rs 2,332.50; and Gail, down 0.84 per cent at Rs 417.65.