Nifty hits new high on reform push, US Fed move

Shares rallied sharply on another round of economic reform measures initiated by the Narendra Modi Government as well as US Fed decision to keep interest rates low amid robust corporate earnings, leading the key NSE index Nifty to hit a new high in intra-day trade today.
An extremely buoyant sentiment powered the bellwether index to rally by a robust 78.75 points, or 0.97 per cent, over last close to end at 8,169.20 after briefly hitting a new lifetime peak of 8,181.55 on National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The 50-share barometer was just a few points shy of its historic closing high of 8,173.90 hit on September 8.

Continuing with its reform measures to accelerate economic growth, the Modi Government yesterday relaxed rules for foreign direct investment (FDI) in construction development. The move was swiftly cheered by the market.
Return of foreign investors in Indian market and a sharp drop in global crude prices also fuelled the rally.
In a move widely expected by markets, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday ended its historic monthly bond buying programme, citing a significant confidence in the US economic recovery prospects despite a slowdown in many parts of the global economy. The US central bank also expressed commitment to keep key rates low for a "considerable time".

Despite a dull start to trade amid F&O expiry-linked volatility, the NSE benchmark index recovered its momentum and scaled a fresh historic peak before paring some gains due to profit-booking at higher levels.

Technology stocks spearheaded the rally on optimism over US economic recovery followed by energy, FMCG, infra, realty, auto and metal counters.
Reliance, Infosys, TCS, HDFC, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, L&T, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Zee, Axis Bank, ONGC, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy's, HUL, Maruti, Hindalco, Power Grid, Bajaj Auto, Gail, IDFC and DLF were the major contributors to the surge.
However, a handful of frontline heavyweights witnessed selling and these included M&M, Lupin, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Sesa Sterlite, SBI and Asian Paints.

Turnover in the cash segment was substantially high at Rs 21,337.31 crore compared to Rs 15,775.38 crore yesterday associated with option expiry. A total of 10,155.55 lakh shares changed hands in 78,14,715 trades, while market capitalisation stood at Rs 93,36,405 crore.