Indian Stock Market Hits New Highs: Nifty and Sensex Soar
On Thursday, Indian equity benchmarks closed on a strong note with the Nifty around 25,150 after touching a fresh lifetime high. The Sensex ended at 82,134.61, up 349.05 points. During trading, the Nifty reached 25,174.55 and the Sensex rose to 82,220.68. Both benchmarks closed near their record highs, with the Nifty 50 advancing for the 12th consecutive session.
Key Movers
Top gainers on the NSE Nifty 50 included Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Britannia Industries, Bajaj Finance, and BPCL. Laggards were Grasim, Mahindra & Mahindra, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, JSW Steel, and HDFC Life Insurance.
Sector Performance
The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices fell for the second session, while the Nifty Auto and FMCG indices reversed their two-session losing streaks, driven by gains in Tata Motors, Britannia, and ITC. The Nifty Metal sector declined for the third consecutive session, led down by Hindustan Zinc and JSW Steel. The Nifty Pharma, despite hitting a record high, ended in the red.
Reliance Industries’ Announcements
Reliance Industries’ 47th AGM drew significant attention, with Mukesh Ambani announcing a Rs 75,000 crore investment in New Energy. The company also announced a 1:1 bonus consideration at the board meeting scheduled on September 5. As a result, the company’s shares increased by 1.55% after the market closed.
Expert Opinions
Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd., said, “The monthly expiry day was a roller-coaster ride for participants, ultimately ending on a positive note. Nifty started flat but gradually moved higher in the first half. However, sharp swings in the latter half kept traders on their toes. Sector-wise, mixed trends persisted, with auto, FMCG, and energy emerging as the top gainers, while the pharma and metal sectors saw some profit-taking. The disappointment was the underperformance of the broader indices.”
Vinnaayak Mehta, Founder & Managing Partner of The Infinity Group, added, “In the past six months, we’ve seen Nifty consistently breaking all-time highs, and I believe this rally still has room to run. While a short-term pullback is possible, the overall upward momentum is likely to continue, potentially pushing Nifty and Sensex to even higher levels.”
Upcoming Data
Later this week, the markets will be reading the first quarter GDP data scheduled for Friday. The Reserve Bank of India projected GDP growth for 2024-25 at 7.2%, with Q1 growth expected at 7.1%. India’s GDP grew by an impressive 8.2% during the financial year 2023-24, continuing to be the fastest-growing major economy.
Doubts Revealed
Nifty -: Nifty is a stock market index in India. It shows how the top 50 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) are performing.
Sensex -: Sensex is another stock market index in India. It tracks the performance of the top 30 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Tata Motors -: Tata Motors is a big Indian company that makes cars, trucks, and buses. It’s part of the Tata Group, one of India’s largest business groups.
Britannia -: Britannia is a famous Indian company known for making biscuits, cakes, and dairy products. You might know their popular biscuits like Good Day and Marie.
Grasim -: Grasim is an Indian company that makes things like cement and chemicals. It’s part of the Aditya Birla Group, a big business group in India.
JSW Steel -: JSW Steel is a large Indian company that makes steel. Steel is used to build things like buildings, cars, and bridges.
Reliance Industries -: Reliance Industries is one of India’s biggest companies. It does many things, like making oil and gas, running stores, and now investing in new energy sources.
Rs 75,000 crore -: Rs 75,000 crore is a very large amount of money. In Indian currency, ‘Rs’ stands for rupees, and ‘crore’ means ten million. So, Rs 75,000 crore is 750 billion rupees.
New Energy -: New Energy refers to clean and renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. These are better for the environment compared to traditional energy sources like coal and oil.
Q1 GDP data -: Q1 GDP data shows how much money a country made in the first quarter (three months) of the year. GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product, which measures the total value of goods and services produced.
Reserve Bank of India -: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of India. It manages the country’s money supply and interest rates to keep the economy stable.
