Sensex rebounds nearly 100 pts to hit lifetime high; Nifty scales record intra-day level

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark index Sensex rebounded nearly 100 points to hit a lifetime closing high on Monday, while the broader Nifty ended just shy of its record peak, propelled by bargain hunting in energy, utility and banking stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 97.84 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at a new record peak of 82,988.78. During the day, it jumped 293.4 points or 0.35 per cent to hit a fresh lifetime intra-day high of 83,184.34.

The NSE Nifty rose 27.25 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 25,383.75, over 5 points lower than its previous record. During the day, the benchmark gained 89.2 points or 0.35 per cent to hit a new intra-day high of 25,445.70.

"The domestic market traded in a narrow range with a positive bias as the participants are keenly awaiting the Fed's decision this week. The weakness in the US job market and benign inflation are pointing at a slew of rate cuts on the table.

"The inflow of foreign money and an expectation of stability in domestic growth may keep sentiment optimistic," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

NTPC was the biggest gainer on the Sensex chart, rising 2.44 per cent, followed by JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Nestle, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Steel.

Bajaj Finance declined over 3 per cent. Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, Adani Port and Asian Paints were the other laggards.

"The Indian markets continued their bullish trend, with Nifty reaching a new record high, driven primarily by foreign institutional investor (FII) buying and a strong market breadth.

"Investors remain cautiously optimistic ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting later this week, which could influence short-term trends. Investors are advised to stay aligned with the current trend, but watch for potential market reactions to the US Fed's policy announcements," Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory, PL Capital - Prabhudas Lilladher, said.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.28 per cent while the midcap index ended marginally up by 0.01 per cent.

Among the indices, utilities jumped 1.97 per cent, power (1.93 per cent), metal (0.65 per cent), capital goods (0.56 per cent), consumer durables (0.49 per cent) and industrials (0.33 per cent).

IT, telecommunication, teck, services and FMCG were the laggards.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong ended with gains. Markets in Japan, mainland China and South Korea were closed for holidays.

European markets were trading mostly higher. The US markets ended in positive territory on Friday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,364.82 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought equities worth Rs 2,532.18 crore.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.35 per cent to USD 71.90 a barrel.

"Globally equity markets will be focused on the Fed rate action on Wednesday, which is likely to influence the stock market trend in the near-term," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

On Friday, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 71.77 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at 82,890.94. The NSE Nifty dropped 32.40 points or 0.13 per cent to 25,356.50.