India’s benchmark stock gauge closed at a record high for a second straight day yesterday as investors continued a spree that’s seen more net buying by foreign funds this year than since 2014.
The S&P BSE Sensex Index climbed 0.5% to 41,558.57 points at the close in Mumbai, matching the percentage advance of the NSE Nifty 50 Index.
Globally, stocks are trading close to all-time highs, with the S&P 500 Index capping a fresh record on Tuesday. Foreign investors have pumped $13.4bn into India’s stocks this year, driving most of the Sensex’s 15% gain in 2019.
Indian asset managers’ shares are trouncing global peers as they benefit from a shift in savings from gold and real estate to stocks and bonds, even as the economy grows at its slowest pace in more than six years.
“Markets globally have gone up a lot, and there has been incremental easing from the Federal Reserve in the last few months” that continues to prop up the Indian market as well, said Abhimanyu Sofat, head of research at IIFL Securities Ltd.
Twelve of 19 sector indexes compiled by BSE Ltd gained, led by a gauge of metal companies. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd added 3.4%, the steepest gain on the Sensex, while HDFC Bank Ltd provided the biggest boost to the index. Tata Motors Ltd’s 3.2% drop was the steepest after an appeals court upheld charges that a former Tata Group chairman was improperly ousted.
Among sectoral indices, BSE Metal was the biggest gainer with 0.84%, BSE Healthcare Index gained 0.69% and BSE Realty Index gained 0.65%. However, BSE Power Index lost 0.71%.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd declined 1.79% to close at Rs1929.25 after Credit Suisse maintained a neutral rating on the stock while slashing the target market price to Rs2,150 per share from Rs2,180 per share.
Shares of KRBL gained 19.49% to close at Rs264.60 yesterday on the back of heavy volumes after its promoters increased their stake in the company through open market purchases.
Sunteck Realty gained 2.82% to close at Rs416.10 after the company said it has sold 125 apartments out of the recently launched 225 apartments in Mumbai, generating sales worth more than Rs200 crore.
Bank of Baroda declined 3.28% to close at Rs98.90 after Reserve Bank of India found that the bank show a divergence in bad loans by Rs5250 crore in the year ended March 31, 2019.
PC Jeweller was down 5.41% to close at Rs24.50 after the Securities and Exchane Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday ordered impounding of alleged unlawful gains of more than Rs8 crore made by two promoters and related entities of PC Jeweller in an insider trading case.
Shares of AXISCADES Engineering Technologies gained 11.15% to close at Rs61.30 after winning a contract from Airbus. The engineering technology solutions company has been selected by Airbus to work on Fuselage, product development and customer support services across different Airbus locations.
Prestige Estates Projects rose 9.89% to close at Rs360.40 after the board of directors of the company scheduled a meeting to consider and approve raising of funds through preferential issue to an identified allottee.
Meanwhile the Indian rupee yesterday strengthened marginally against the US dollar amid mixed trade in other Asian currencies as traders took a breather after the partial US-China trade deal sent global markets higher.
The rupee closed at 70.97 a dollar compared with Tuesday’s close of 70.98. The Indian unit had opened 71.03 a dollar.
The yield on the 10-year government bond closed at 6.71% compared with its previous close of 6.752%.
In the year so far, the rupee has weakened 1.69%, while foreign investors have bought nearly $13.59bn in Indian equities and $3.84bn in debt.
Asian currencies closed mixed. Malaysian Ringgit gained 0.09%, Thai baht 0.07%, Indonesian rupiah 0.06%, China renminbi 0.006% and China Offshore 0.004%. However, South Korean won lost 0.22%, Taiwan dollar 0.16%, Philippines peso 0.08%, Singapore dollar 0.05%, Hong Kong dollar 0.02% and Japanese yen 0.009%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was at 97.334, up 0.12% from its previous close of 97.222.
People walk by the Bombay Stock Exchange building in Mumbai (file). The Sensex closed up 0.5% to 41,558.57 points yesterday.
