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Extending their record-setting run for the second day, the Sensex and Nifty closed at fresh life-time highs today as the sentiment remained upbeat on forecast of normal monsoon this year.
The 30-share BSE Sensex opened higher and soared to hit yet another record high of 30,366.43 but dipped towards the fag-end due to profit-booking to end at 30,250.98, up 2.81 points or 0.01 per cent.
The Sensex surpassed its previous all-time closing high of 30,248.17 reached yesterday.
The broader NSE Nifty also rose 15.10 points or 0.16 per cent to 9,422.40, its new closing high, after scaling a new intra-day peak of 9,450.65.
Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables index was the star-performer and was up 1.65 per cent, auto 0.98 per cent, metal 0.69 per cent and TECk 0.57 per cent. On the other hand, power index fell the most by 1.22 per cent, oil & gas 0.93 per cent, PSU 0.77 per cent and infrasructure 0.51 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Hero MotoCorp (+4.26%), Bajaj Auto (+3.12%), Adani Ports (+2.28%), State Bank of India (+1.15%) and ITC (+1.00%), while the major losers were Bharti Airtel (-2.21%), GAIL (-2.14%), ONGC (-1.94%), HUL (-1.78%) and Axis Bank (-1.69%).
Normal monsoon forecast
Earlier in the week, the head of the country's weather office, forecast a higher monsoon rainfall as concerns over the El Nino weather condition eased, raising prospects of higher farm and economic growth.
A better-than-expected monsoon could also keep inflation in check, reducing the prospects of a tighter interest rate regime.
“The main reason for yesterday's and today's rally on the indexes is the positive monsoon rainfall forecast,” said Siddharth Sedani, head and vice president, equity advisory at Anand Rathi.
The monsoon delivers about 70 per cent of India's annual rainfall and is a critical factor as nearly half of the country's farmland lacks irrigation.
Auto stocks rallied on expectations of lower interest rates after a better monsoon forecast eased inflation fears in a country that depends heavily on rains to irrigate its farmlands.
Shares of two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd and Bajaj Auto Ltd were up on hopes good monsoon rains will boost sales, especially in the rural markets.
Banks also gained as investors pinned their hopes on easing bad loans in the coming quarters after the government tweaked its laws last week to help tackle the record $150 billion in troubled bank debts.
“The ordinance is definitely having a positive impact," Sedani said.
Asian shares
Asian stocks rose early on Thursday, getting a lift from a record high close on MSCI's global stocks benchmark after strong gains in oil prices buoyed energy stocks globally.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 per cent early on Thursday, while Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.2 per cent.
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