The Indian benchmark stock indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, surged to new all-time highs, continuing the bullish momentum from previous sessions. Both the indices rose nearly 1%, with Auto and Metal shares contributing to the market gains.
The Sensex hit a fresh record high of 85,930.43 before closing 666.25 points or 0.78% higher at 85,836.12. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 reached a peak of 26,250.90, closing at 26,216.05, up 211.90 points or 0.81%.
In the broader market on Nifty, large-cap stocks dominated the trading sessionon the indices on Thursday, while the mid and small-cap segments gave a subdued performanceindicating that mid and small-cap segments failed to mirror the gains seen in large caps.
The BSE Mid-cap index closed almost flat, and the BSE Small-cap index lost about 0.39%.
Despite the record highs in key indices, market breadth was negative. Out of 2,862 stocks traded on the exchanges, 1,589 stocks ended in the red, while 1,207 advanced, and 66 remained unchanged.
In sectoral performance, most indices ended in the green. Auto and Metal stocks were the top performers, both rising over 2.2%. Financial services and FMCG sectors also gained nearly 1%, however, consumer durables underperformed declining about 0.90%.
Among the top gainers, Maruti Suzuki emerged as the leader, rising 4.48% to ₹13,358.65 on strong volumes of over 14.71 lakh shares. Grasim followed with a 3.19% rise, closing at ₹2,747. Tata Motors continued its upward momentum, gaining 2.83% to ₹990.9 witha significant volume of over 2.16 crore shares traded. Other gainers in the top list included Shriram Finance and Bajaj Finserv, which rose 2.78% and 2.59% respectively.
On the losing side, Cipla led the decline, dropping 1.47% to ₹1,619 on volumes of over 26 lakh shares. ONGC fell 1.24% to ₹295, while Larsen & Toubro (L&T) slipped 0.89% to ₹3,760. Hero MotoCorp also saw a decline, ending 0.80% lower at ₹6,039.7.
Global sentiment was buoyed by developments in China, where fresh stimulus measures announced by the central bank of China helped lift markets across Asia. The rally in Chinese markets and markets with exposure to Chinese company shares came after the state media confirmed that China's top leadership affirmed its commitment to implementing stimulus measures to support economic growth.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan surged 2.79%, closing at 38,925.63, while South Korea's Kospi gained 2.90% to finish at 2,671.57. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 3.61%, closing at 3,000.95, and the CSI 300 index rose 4.23% to 3,545.32.
Investors and analysts worldwide are also keenly waiting for the pre-recorded speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which is expected to offer some insight into the U.S Fed's approach to inflation and interest rates in the coming months. Growing expectations that the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) will continue with lower interest rates are bolstering market optimism. Apart from Powell's speech, investors are closely watching the upcoming US jobs data, scheduled to be release after Indian market hours to understand the market movements.
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