Sensex breaches 30,000, hits record high on global rally; rupee below 64/$

Sensex hit its all-time high of 30,071 surpassing previous peak of 30,024 reached on March 4, 2015.

Benchmark indices hit their respective record highs at open, extending gains for third straight session, as Wall Street scales new peaks tracking relief rally at centrist victory in first round of French election and positive speculation about US tax reform.
 
Back home, overall optimism on March- quarter corporate earnings also contributed to the gains. Rupee also gained past 64/$ for the first time since April 2015. The currency gained 6.4% in last 3 month becoming the best performing currency in Asia.
 
Nifty50 yesterday breached 9,300-level for the first time ever and extended gains today breaching its yesterday's high of 9,309. The index hit a high of 9,343. On  the other hand, Sensex also its all-time high level of 30,089 surpassing previous peak of 30,024 reached on March 4, 2015.
 
At 12:16 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 30,107 up 163 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,353 up 47 points.
 
In the broader market, Midcap and Smallcap indices also followed the trend, hitting their respective record highs. The BSE Midcap rose 0.3% while the BSE Smallcap advanced 0.5%.

Buzzing Stocks

Wipro, M&M, Axis Bank, HDFC and Tata Steel gained the most in BSE Sensex while Cipla, HeroMoto Corp, PowerGrid, Dr Reddy's shed the most.

Wipro was the top gainer, up 2.3% after the India’s third-largest software exporter, said its fourth-quarter profits grew 0.4% to Rs 2,267 crore on a 2.6% higher revenue of Rs 13,987.5 crore, as the digital, energy and utilities business increased.

Private sector lender Axis Bank gained over 1% ahead of its March-quarter earings, due later today. For the previous quarter ended December 31, 2016, the bank had reported a 73.35% drop in net profit at Rs 579.57 crore against Rs 2,175.30 crore reported for the corresponding quarter last year. 

April F&O rollovers at 38.6%
 
Market-wide rollover of F&O contracts stood at 38.6% till Tuesday, which was lower than its three-month average of 41%. Nifty April expiry rollovers were 42.7% on Day 2, which was a higher that the average rollovers of 40% seen in last three series and 39.8% in the last six series.
 
M-cap of BSE-listed firms at all-time high         
 
Total market valuation of all companies listed on BSE touched a lifetime peak of over Rs 125 lakh crore on Tuesday helped by strong gains in the broader market. The Indian equity market’s contribution to the total market capitalisation touched 2.71% on April 24, compared with a six-year average of 2.21%.
 
S Chand IPO kicks off today                     
 
The bidding process of the Rs 728-crore initial public offering (IPO) kicks off today. The price band for the offer is Rs 660-670 a share and the allotment of scrips to anchor investors has been done at the upper end of the price band.
 
The IPO comprises the fresh issue of equity shares up to Rs 325 crore. Besides, existing shareholders of the company, including Everstone Capital, would collectively sell 6,023,236 shares worth Rs 403.5 crore, taking the total to Rs 728 crore.
 
Investors await tax announcement
 
Investors eagerly await US President Donald Trump's "big tax reform and tax reduction" announcement due later in the day.
 
As per media reports, Trump's plans would include a slashing of the corporate tax rate and lower taxes on offshore earnings stockpiled by US companies overseas.
 
Global Markets
 
Asian stocks rallied as Wall Street hit new peaks while the euro consolidated recent gains as immediate concerns of political uncertainty in the euro zone receded.
 
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1%, hovering near their highest since June 2015. Early Asian stock markets such as New Zealand and South Korea were key gainers.
 
A strong finish to U.S. markets was the main driver. The Nasdaq Composite hit a record high on Tuesday, while the Dow and S&P 500 brushed against recent peaks as strong earnings underscored the health of corporate America.