The Sensex and Nifty indices reached new all-time highs on Thursday following a decline in inflation figures that sparked optimism about a potential interest rate cut by the RBI. Market participants noted substantial buying activity in capital goods, consumer durables, and industrial stocks, contributing to the indices' gains.
Government data released on Wednesday revealed that retail inflation dropped to a one-year low of 4.75% in May, primarily due to a slight decrease in food prices, remaining comfortably below the RBI's threshold of 6%.
The BSE Sensex rose 538.89 points or 0.70% to hit a record peak of 77,145.46, marking its second consecutive day of gains. It closed at a new high of 76,810.90, up 204.33 points or 0.27%. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty climbed 75.95 points or 0.33% to end at 23,398.90, reaching a new closing high, and touched an intraday peak of 23,481.05, up 158.1 points or 0.67%.
Among the top gainers among the Sensex components were Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance, and Nestle. Conversely, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, and ITC faced declines.
Overseas, Seoul and Hong Kong ended higher, while Tokyo and Shanghai closed lower. European markets were trading down, whereas US markets showed mostly positive results.
V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, commented, "The inflation figures both in the US and India are encouraging. This suggests that the process of disinflation is progressing well. This is particularly positive news for banking stocks from a market perspective."
On the global front, Brent crude fell by 0.71% to $82.01 per barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 426.63 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
On Wednesday, the BSE Sensex increased by 149.98 points or 0.20% to settle at 76,606.57, while the Nifty closed at 23,322.95, up 58.10 points or 0.25%.
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