Nifty hits record high led by surge in IT stocks, Sensex tops 82,000-mark

Nifty at record high: The Indian stock markets have continued their rally for the tenth straight session even as the indices traded lower during the early trade on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.

The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.38 per cent to touch an all-time high of 25,114.05, while the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 0.35 per cent to touch an intraday high of 82,004.35, as investors anticipate potential rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve.

"We are seeing significant retail inflows, as well as investments from domestic institutional investors, portfolio management services (PMS), and alternative investment funds (AIF). This excess liquidity is maintaining the positive momentum in the markets," said Amit Kumar Gupta, founder of Fintrekk Capital.

IT was the star performer, with the Nifty IT index, which has the second highest weightage in the Nifty 50, jumping 2.35 per cent at a record high. IT companies, which get a substantial portion of their revenues from the US, stand to gain from a rate cut that may prop up economic growth in the world's largest economy. That took the IT index up about 4 per cent this week alone, after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's signals indicated rate easing might be in store at the September meeting.

The financials index, which accounted for the highest weightage in the Nifty 50, however fell 0.2 per cent.

FII were net buyers for the fourth consecutive session on Tuesday and continued to prop up the market. While DIIs were net sellers, they had earlier poured in $5.8 billion in the past 16 sessions, thereby maintaining healthy liquidity.

Market analysts are now closely watching the US inflation data, set to be released on Friday, which is expected to offer further clues on the Fed’s rate easing trajectory.

Among individual stocks, LTIMindtree led the gains in the IT sector and the Nifty 50, surging 6.2 per cent after Kotak Institutional Equities upgraded the stock from "reduce" to "add."

The broader indices also saw gains, with the small-cap and mid-cap indexes rising 0.4 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively, reflecting a strong domestic focus and investor confidence across various segments of the market.