On August's last trading day, Nifty hits fresh high; gains for 12thday

The Nifty 50 hit a fresh record high and continued its upward march for the 12th consecutive session on Friday, amid positive global cues.

The Sensex, too, rose to a record high, and on the monthly scale, both indices rose for the third consecutive month. On a monthly scale, the Nifty 50 rose 1.1 percent, and the Sensex climbed 0.80 percent, extending the gains into the third consecutive week. Year-to-date, the Nifty 50 is up 16 percent, while the Sensex has gained 14 percent.

On the last trading day of the month, the Nifty 50 hit its fresh record high of 25,268.35, while the Sensex also scaled a fresh peak of 82,637.03 during the session. The Sensex finally closed 231 points, or 0.28 percent, higher at 82,365.77, while the Nifty 50 settled 84 points, or 0.33 percent, higher at 25,235.90. This was the fresh closing high for both indices.

As many as 280 stocks, including TCS, HCL Tech, Persistent Systems, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Divi's Labs, and Lupin, hit their fresh 52-week highs in intraday trade on BSE.

Mid- and small-caps outperform benchmarks

Mid Cap and Small Cap indices outperformed the benchmarks. The BSE Mid Cap Index rose 0.50 percent, while the Small Cap Index climbed 0.73 percent. The overall market capitalisation of the firms listed on the BSE rose to a record near ₹464.4 lakh crore from nearly ₹462.6 lakh crore from the previous session, making investors richer by about ₹2 lakh crore in a single session.

“The benchmark indices scaled new highs in a positive trading session on the back of broad-based buying support, as hopes of a rate cut by the US Fed next month after last week's Jackson Hole meeting has made investors more confident. However, caution may prevail, and profit-taking could make a comeback as the market has been on an upward march for the last 12 trading sessions,” said Prashanth Tapse of Mehta Equities.

As many as 41 stocks ended in the green in the Nifty 50 index, with shares of Cipla (up 2.23 percent), Bajaj Finance (up 2.07 percent) and Mahindra and Mahindra (up 1.97 percent) as the top gainers.

On the other hand, shares of Tata Motors (down 1.13 percent), HDFC Bank (down 0.78 percent), and Tech Mahindra (down 0.72 percent) closed as the top losers in the index.

Optimism continues

"Global markets are resonating with the US Fed’s pledges of a rate cut in September. The US and Indian markets have regained the recent highs, reflecting the continuation of this optimism," Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services observed.

"Though the domestic market is currently showing a positive bias, the Indian Q1 GDP growth is expected to be moderate, while premium valuation and a lack of fresh triggers could see further momentum buildup in value stocks," Mr Nair added.

According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, market strength is likely to persist as long as the Nifty 50 stays above 25,000. A drop below this level could trigger a significant correction. Mr De said that on the upside, current optimism could drive the index towards 25,500 in the near term.

                                                  (By arrangement with livemint.com)