Sensex, Nifty scale new peaks; all eyes on earnings, budget
BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 touch record highs in early trade, mirroring gains in world equities, and investors now await December quarter earnings and upcoming Union Budget for further cues
Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty touched record highs in early Friday trade, mirroring the gains in world equities, and investors were now awaiting December quarter earnings, and upcoming Union Budget for further cues.
Asian markets climbed closer to record levels on Friday, while Dow Jones Industrial Average sail past the 25,000-mark for the first time on Thursday, after US jobs data pointed to firm economic growth in the world’s largest economy.
BSE’s 30-share Sensex rose to a record high of 34,175.21 points, while National Stock Exchange’s 50-share Nifty rose to a record of 10.562.80 points.
At 10:16 am, Sensex was up 0.52% at 34,146.05 points while Nifty traded 0.48% higher at 10,555.25 points.
“Markets are aided by buoyancy in the global markets. People are now awaiting earnings, and expectations form the budget are playing out," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, co-CEO, Avendus Capital Public Markets Alternative Strategies LLP.
“This time, around, we might see macro GDP numbers showing buoyancy from Q1 FY19 onwards, but market will await corporate earnings recovery to flow in," added Sanghavi.
Foreign brokerages are forecasting around 10% gains for India’s benchmark indices in 2018 betting on a rebound in corporate earnings growth and economic recovery.
On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank set its December Nifty target at 11,500 points, 9.5% higher than the current level. It also said that the implied Sensex target is 37,000 points. A day earlier, CLSA had raised its Nifty target for 2018 to 11,400.
All sectoral indices, except BSE Oil & Gas index traded higher. BSE telecom index and BSE basic materials index led the gains, as they rose 2.61% and 1.31% respectively.
Twenty-six of 30 Sensex stocks traded higher. Top IT company Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and top car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, contributed the most to the gains, and traded 1.52% and 1.36% respectively.
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