Bulls take charge: Sensex breaches 83,000 on global rate-cut hopes

Markets jump nearly 2% intraday; Nifty hits fresh high

Benchmark indices surged to fresh record highs on Thursday, as strong buying in heavyweight stocks towards the end of the session lifted the Nifty 50 and Sensex by nearly 2 per cent, marking their largest single-day advance in over three months.

The sharp rally drove the 30-share BSE Sensex to hit 83,000 mark for the first time, but the index ended the session at 82,963 with 1.8 per cent gain.
 

The Nifty 50 rose 1.9 per cent to 25,389, its highest single-day gain since June 7. The gains were underpinned by inflows of Rs 7,695 crore from overseas funds.
 

The combined market cap of BSE-listed companies rose by Rs 6.6 trillion to touch a new high of Rs 467.4 trillion ($5.6 trillion)

The rally, which came amid positive global cues, was supported by heightened expectations of a 25-basis point rate cut by the US Fed after the inflation data came in on expected lines, said Siddhartha Khemka, head (research, wealth management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
 

“The bulls took charge towards the end of the day and lifted the indices to a new high, mirroring the bullish global trend. The rate-cut optimism across the globe (ECB & US Fed) has provided a positive impetus to the global market," added Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Most Asian markets rallied, driven by a tech-fueled rebound on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 had logged over 1 per cent gains on Wednesday led by a rebound in technology stocks.

Reports that China might cut rates by 50 bps on $5 trillion mortgages as soon as this month to boost consumption also boosted the sentiments.

European stocks also opened higher ahead of the latest monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank. The central bank was expected to slash rates again by 25 bps later on Thursday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up over 1 per cent in the first half of the session.

In India, metal stocks led the gains, with the Nifty Metal index surging 2.9 per cent on hopes that potential cut in interest rates in China would boost consumption.

The auto index also logged over 2 per cent gains. All the sectoral indices closed in the green. Hindalco Industries, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, and Shriram Finance were among the top gainers in Nifty 50 and Sensex. The expiry of derivatives contracts also supported the gains as it led to short covering, said experts.

Large-cap benchmarks outperformed broader market indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index rising 1.2 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index increasing 1 per cent.

The market’s fear gauge, India VIX, declined 3.3 percent to 13.8.