India's Nifty 50 surpassed 17,000 for the first time as markets regained momentum following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments that the U.S. central bank will not be in a hurry to increase rates.
Rising pace of vaccination at home, a rebound in foreign inflows and enhanced government support to aid the recovery after the deadlier second wave of the pandemic also contributed to the rally.
The 50-stock index moved from 16,000 to 17,000 in 20 sessions, starting Aug. 3, rising over 6.2% during the period, according to Bloomberg data.
By points, this was quicker than it took to cross the last two 1,000-points milestones each. The 50-stock gauge had moved from 15,000 to 16,000 in 120 trading sessions starting Feb. 5 when it crossed the mark for the first time and 26 sessions to move from 14,000 to 15,000 respectively.
The Nifty 50 has gained more than 21% so far this year, the best first eight months since 2017 when the index surged 28.65%.
Both the Sensex and Nifty are headed for their best month since November 2020.
Leaders & Laggards
Bajaj Finserv Ltd. was the top performer on the Nifty 50 since Aug. 3, driven by the in-principle nod from Securities and Exchange Board of India to set up a mutual fund.
JSW Steel Ltd. has been the worst performing stock during the last 1,000-point Nifty 50 surge.
The NSE Nifty IT was the best-performing sectoral index, aided by demand for digital services, improving operating efficiency and rising offshore revenue. Nifty Media Index and Nifty Realty Index were the top laggards.
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