Sensex rallies 1,181 points to close at lifetime high

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex vaulted 1,181 points to close at its all-time high on Friday, in lockstep with a rally in global markets after lower-than-expected US inflation data fuelled hopes that the US Fed may go slow on rate hikes.

A sharp recovery in the rupee and unabated foreign capital inflows further bolstered sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 1,181.34 points or 1.95 per cent to settle at 61,795.04 -- surpassing its previous closing peak of 61,765.59 hit on October 18, 2021.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty rallied 321.50 points or 1.78 per cent to finish at 18,349.70.

HDFC twins topped the Sensex gainers' chart, jumping up to 5.84 per cent, following reports that the merged entity's weightage could increase in MSCI global indices.

Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, TCS, Wipro, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were among the other winners, rising as much as 4.51 per cent.

On the other hand, M&M, SBI, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy's, ICICI Bank and NTPC were among the laggards, shedding up to 0.83 per cent.

The market breadth was bullish, as 22 of the 30 Sensex counters closed in the green.

"The domestic market joined the global run as markets across the world cheered the lower-than-expected US inflation data. The US dollar slumped along with treasury yields as investors evaluated the likelihood of a less hawkish rate hike by the Fed.

"Reduced treasury yields will aid to improve FII inflows. The rally of domestic market was led by IT stocks as recession fears reduced and HDFC twins after merger overhang," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said markets have been maintaining a positive trend and recovery in the US markets is fuelling momentum at regular intervals.

"Since Nifty has reclaimed the 18,350 mark, we are now eyeing the record high in the index. At the same time, we've been observing selective participation so stock selection holds importance. Besides, the underperformance of the broader market is also hurting the sentiment. Participants should align their positions accordingly and prefer stocks that are trading in tandem with the benchmark," he added.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge gained 0.15 per cent and the midcap index rose 0.33 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, IT, metal, financial and tech gained the most, while auto, power and FMCG were the top losers.

Global financial markets rallied after the US consumer price index eased to 7.4 per cent in October from 8.2 per cent in September. Markets were on tenterhooks after the US Federal Reserve indicated more interest rate tightening to fight inflation. The current US inflation data points to an early end of the interest rate hike cycle.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 7.70 per cent while the Nikkei in Tokyo surged 2.98 per cent. In Seoul, the Kospi rose 3.37 per cent. The Shanghai Composite index 1.69 rallied per cent.

Equity exchanges in Europe were also trading in the green in the afternoon session. Stock exchanges in the US ended with significant gains on Thursday.

On the macroeconomic front, Moody's on Friday slashed India's GDP growth projection to 7 per cent for 2022, saying that global slowdown and high domestic interest rates would dampen economic momentum.

The rupee appreciated 62 paise to close at 80.78 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude gained 2.37 per cent to USD 95.89 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the Indian capital market on Thursday, as they bought shares worth Rs 36.06 crore, as per exchange data.