The benchmark equity indices snapped a two-day losing streak to close at a record high on Thursday amid gains in global markets after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell restored hopes of rate cuts this year.
The NSE Nifty 50 closed 80 points or 0.36% higher at 22,514.65 and the S&P BSE Sensex closed 350.81 points or 0.47% higher at 74,227.63. Intraday, the Nifty rose as much as 0.82% to 22,619 points and the Sensex 0.85% to 74,501.73.
Investors now await the outcome of the meeting of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee on Friday. The RBI will likely keep its benchmark repo rate at 6.5% for a seventh straight policy meeting, according to all 39 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
"After dismissal of 22,600/74,500, the market (Nifty/Sensex) could rally up to 22,700–22,750/74,800–75,000 (respectively)," Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities, said. "On the flip side, below 22,350/73,500, the sentiment could change. Below 22,350/73,500, the market could retest the level of 22,200–22,100/73,100–72,800."
Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd. contributed the most to the gains, followed by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Titan Co. and Infosys Ltd.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd., Oil and Natural Gas Corp., State Bank of India, Reliance Industries Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. capped the upside.
Sectoral indices on the NSE were mixed at close, with the Nifty Metal and the Nifty Bank gaining over 1%, and the Nifty Pharma shedding 1.2%.
The broader markets ended on a mixed note. The BSE MidCap settled 0.11% lower and the BSE SmallCap ended 0.54% higher.
On the BSE, 13 sectors advanced and seven sectors declined, with the Information Technology index rising nearly 1% to emerge as the top performer. Oil & Gas declined over 1% to become the top loser.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers as 2,469 stocks rose, 1,379 declined and 99 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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