BENGALURU: India’s benchmark stock indexes scaled new peaks on Thursday and were on track for the best monthly gain this year, helped by a strong economy, policy continuity and the return of foreign investors.
The NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.74% to end at 24,044.5 points, topping 24,000 for the first time. The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.72% to close above 79,000 points for the first time.
The indexes have closed at record highs for three straight sessions. The Nifty and Sensex have gained 6.72% and 7.14%, respectively, so far in June, set for their best one-month gain since December 2023.
Equity benchmarks corrected sharply at the start of the month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party came back to power with a narrower-than-expected margin. But since then, its cabinet assignments have signalled political continuity.
That not only led to a relief rally but also pulled back foreign portfolio investors to the market. Their purchases of shares worth 172.93 billion rupees so far in June is already a three-month high.
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“No surprises to guess that the recent move has been supported by the private banking sector, which is a usual favourite among foreign investors,” said Jaykrishna Gandhi, head of business development at institutional equities at Emkay Global Financial Services.
Private banks have jumped 9% in June, outperforming the Nifty’s 6.7% increase.
ICICI Bank gained 0.16% on the day, rising 10.3% in eight straight sessions in its longest such rally since January 2015. The bank, India’s No.2 private lender, crossed $100 billion in market capitalisation earlier in the week.
Reliance Industries, the second-heaviest Nifty stock, was up 1.09%, after gaining 4% in the previous session.
India’s top cement maker Ultratech Cement jumped 5.15% after its 18.85 billion rupees ($226 million) deal to buy a 23% stake in India Cements, which surged about 12%.
IT stocks jumped 2.03%, with all ten constituents logging gains.
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