Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex End At Record Highs As Private Bank Stocks Lead

The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex ended Thursday with fresh closing highs as risk appetite increased among traders as the US Federal Open Market Committee guided for more rate cuts after reducing the key rate for first time in over four years.

HDFC Bank Ltd., and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. contributed the most to the gains of the NSE Nifty 50.

The Nifty 50 ended 38.25 points or 0.15% higher at 25,415.80, and the Sensex settled 236.57 points or 0.29% higher at 83,184.80.

The US rate-setting panel cut the benchmark federal fund rate by 50 basis points to 4.75–5.00% in line with market expectations, which helped the benchmarks post fresh highs at open. The Nifty 50 rose 0.92% to a fresh high of 25,611.95, and the Sensex rose 1.00% to a fresh high of 83,773.61.

Cheering a 50-bps rate cut by the FOMC, the Indian equities commenced the weekly expiry day on a strong note at a fresh high of 25,500. But, once again the broader markets dented the market sentiments and a steep fall in the Mid and Smallcap stocks dragged the index lower; which however, managed to hold its gains to end the session at 25,415.80 with gains of 38.25 points, said Aditya Gaggar, director, Progressive Shares.

The Index has formed a Shooting Star candlestick pattern at record levels with a probable bearish divergence in the RSI. The consolidation range of the Index is 25,300-25,500 and a convincing move on either side will decide the trend, Gaggar said.

HDFC Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., NTPC Ltd. Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Reliance Industries Ltd. added to the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 index.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corp, Coal India Ltd., and HCL Technologies Ltd. weighed on the index.

On NSE, seven sectors declined, five sectors advanced out of 12. The NSE Nifty Media declined the most, while the NSE Nifty FMCG rose the most.

Among the sectors, FMCG was the top gainer followed by the Nifty Bank and Realty while Media and PSU Banks corrected the most. Mid and Smallcaps corrected to the extent of 0.67% & 1.26% and underperformed the Nifty 50, Gaggar said.

Broader indices underperformed. BSE Midcap closed 0.53% lower and BSE Smallcap was 1.06% lower at close.

Of the 20 sectors on the BSE, 11 fell and nine ended higher. BSE Oil & Gas fell the most

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. Around 2,722 stocks fell, 1,255 rose, and 98 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Rupee strengthened by 7 paise to close 83.69 against the US dollar. It closed at 83.76 on Wednesday, according to date on Bloomberg.

• The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex settled at highest closing level as risk appetite improved after the US Federal Reserve reduced the key rate and guided for more.

• The Nifty rose 0.92% to a fresh high of 25,611.95. The Sensex rose 1.00% to a fresh high of 83,773.61.

• The NSE Nifty Financial Services rose 1.06% to a record high of 25,584.45 during the session HDFC Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. were top gainers in the index.

• The NSE Nifty Bank increased 1.14% intraday to one-month high of 53,353.30. The index ended 0.54% higher at 53,037.60.

• Stocks of telecommunication slumped after the Supreme Court rejected their pleas to re-compute average gross revenue calculations. Vodafone Idea Ltd. was the worst hit compared to other stocks.

• The NSE Nifty Midcap 150 ended 0.52% lower at 21,965.15.

• The NSE Nifty Smallcap 250 ended 0.96% lower at 18,298.70.

Siemens Ltd. got No Objection Certificate from National Stock Exchange Ltd. to demerge its energy business to Siemens Energy India, it said in an exchange filing.

Europe share indices rose Thursday as risk appetite fuelled among investors after the Federal Reserve's dovish guidance assured that the world's largest economy may be able to avoid recession.