Sensex rallies 1,181 points to close at its lifetime high
Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex vaulted 1,181 points to close at its all-time high on Friday, in lockstep with a rally in global markets after lower-than-expected US inflation data fuelled hopes that the US Fed may go slow on rate hikes.
A sharp recovery in the rupee and unabated foreign capital inflows further bolstered sentiment, traders said.
The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 1,181.34 points or 1.95 per cent to settle at 61,795.04 -- surpassing its previous closing peak of 61,765.59 hit on October 18, 2021.
Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty rallied 321.50 points or 1.78 per cent to finish at 18,349.70.
HDFC twins topped the Sensex gainers' chart, jumping up to 5.84 per cent, following reports that the merged entity's weightage could increase in MSCI global indices.
Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, TCS, Wipro, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were among the other winners, rising as much as 4.51 per cent.
On the other hand, M&M, SBI, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy's, ICICI Bank and NTPC were among the laggards, shedding up to 0.83 per cent.
The market breadth was bullish, as 22 of the 30 Sensex counters closed in the green.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge gained 0.15 per cent and the midcap index rose 0.33 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, IT, metal, financial and tech gained the most, while auto, power and FMCG were the top losers.
Global financial markets rallied after the US consumer price index eased to 7.4 per cent in October from 8.2 per cent in September. Markets were on tenterhooks after the US Federal Reserve indicated more interest rate tightening to fight inflation. The current US inflation data points to an early end of the interest rate hike cycle.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 7.70 per cent while the Nikkei in Tokyo surged 2.98 per cent. In Seoul, the Kospi rose 3.37 per cent. The Shanghai Composite index 1.69 rallied per cent.
Equity exchanges in Europe were also trading in the green in the afternoon session. Stock exchanges in the US ended with significant gains on Thursday.
On the macroeconomic front, Moody's on Friday slashed India's GDP growth projection to 7 per cent for 2022, saying that global slowdown and high domestic interest rates would dampen economic momentum.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude gained 2.37 per cent to $95.89 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the Indian capital market on Thursday, as they bought shares worth Rs 36.06 crore, as per exchange data.
