Sensex, Nifty at record closing high on broad based buying

HDFC and Infosys contribute the most to today's rally

Markets staged a smart recovery in today's session, to ease past the losses over the last two trading days, on way to set a new record high for both the Sensex and Nifty. The gains were on account of broad based buying and crude dropping below $100 a barrel.

The sentiment was bettered after Goldman Sachs raised its Nifty target to 9,000 points for September 2015. Its previous target was 8,600 points for June 2015. Also, provisional data from the exchanges showed that foreign funds were net buyers the previous trading session.

For the day, the Sensex and the Nifty gained a percent each. The 30- share Sensex closed at a record high of 27,320, up 293 points and the Nifty scaled a peak of 8,174 up 87 points.

Meanwhile, broader markets surged with the small cap index up 2.1% and the midcap index advanced 1.3%, keeping its outperforming trend intact.

Rupee

The rupee was trading at 60.26/27 versus Friday's close of 60.39/40 following weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data. The RBI likely buying dollars via state-run banks to prevent further fall in the pair, say traders.

Most other Asian currencies were trading stronger compared to the dollar.

Sectors & Stocks

Consumer Durables index down 0.2% was the only sectoral index to close in the red. Among the gainers were Oil and Gas, Bankex, Capital Goods, FMCG, IT, Metal and Health Care indices up 1-2%.

NTPC, M&M, Tata Power and HDFC down 0.2-1.6% were the only losers among Sensex-30.

Among the gainers were Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) which gained nearly 3% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral".

Cipla climbed 1% after the company announced that Medispray Laboratories, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company at its board meeting held on 05 September 2014 approved the acquisition of two manufacturing undertakings worth Rs 100 crore.

L&T added 1% after the company said its wholly owned subsidiary L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) has secured new orders in the offshore and onshore segments worth Rs 1920 crore from domestic oil and gas majors.

Hindalco, Wipro, HDFC Bank, SBI, HUL and TCS up 1.5-3.5% were the prominent gainers for the day.

Tyre stocks were in focus today on optimism that the recent steep slide in rubber prices could boost profitability of tyre makers. Apollo Tyres, CEAT, Goodyear India, JK Tyre & Industries, MRF and TVS Srichakra gained 5-20%.

Global Markets

Asian stocks were trading mixed. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and Singapore were off 0.2% to 0.22%. Key benchmark indices in Japan and Indonesia rose 0.15% to 0.69%. Markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan are closed for a holiday.

According to a government report today, 8 September 2014, China's exports rose 9.4% in August from a year earlier, down from a 14.5% rise in July. Imports slid 2.4% in August from a year earlier, after a 1.6% drop in July. China's trade surplus with the rest of the world widened to a record of $49.8 billion in August, from $47.3 billion in July.

Japan's economy shrank an annualised 7.1% in April-June from the previous quarter, revised down from a preliminary 6.8% contraction due to weaker-than-expected capital spending, the Cabinet Office said today, 8 September 2014 in Tokyo.