FII buying and economic revival hope help Sensex log third weekly high

India’s benchmark stock index rose for a third week in four, as hopes of reform measures kept investor sentiment buoyant. The S&P BSE Sensex Index ended the week with a gain of 2.8 per cent to end at 40,165. The gauge touched a record intra-day high Thursday. The NSE Nifty index rose 2.7 per cent to 11,900.

Experts said better-than-expected company earnings have helped improve mood. Eighteen out of 27 Nifty companies that have reported quarterly earnings so far this season have beaten or matched the average analyst expectations, while one didn’t have enough projections.The latest up move in stock prices has been backed by robust buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) amid an improvement in risk appetite globally. During the week, FIIs pumped in close to $1.5 billion into domestic stocks.

“Foreign investors have returned and they are buying in the cash market as opposed to the past, when they would buy mostly derivatives. That is fundamentally powerful because it starts raising the floor in terms of demand,” said Deven Choksey, who oversees investment and research at KR Choksey.

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With bureau inputs