Bull rally continues, Sensex jumps another 181 points, Nifty tops 8,500

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The rupee, however, came under pressure and fell by 5 paise to end at 67.18 on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers in spite of the sustained rally in domestic capital market. The gains of the stock market come a day after the US benchmark S&P 500 stock index set record intraday and closing highs, as last week’s strong monthly US jobs report worked its way into financial markets.

According to analysts, the strong likelihood of a Goods and Services Tax Bill being passed in the monsoon session of Parliament, which starts on July 18, and hopes of a good start to the quarterly earnings season also boosted investor sentiment. The good progress of monsoon also cheered the investors. Gains in stock markets also tracked a rally in government bonds, as debt investors bet on benign inflation data later in the day and awaited the government’s announcement on the next Reserve Bank of India Governor.

Jayant Manglik, president, Religare Securities, said, “markets remained upbeat, tracking firm global cues. After a gap-up start in index, the first half was dull and traders switched to stock specific trading approach. However, buying re-emerged in select index majors in the later half, pushing Nifty above 8500 mark. Almost all the sectoral indices, barring the defensive pack i.e. FMCG and pharma, participated in the move and posted decent gains.”

Nifty has settled above 8500 which is roughly a per cent away from the resistance zone of 8600. “No doubt, the bias is positive but it’s sensible to keep booking profit on every rise from here on, considering the results of index majors ahead. On the other hand, the movement on mid-cap and smallcap space might outdo the heavyweights in coming days,” Manglik said.

Analysts said the benchmark Sensex and the Nifty have gained more than two per cent over the last two trading sessions and are currently on a strong foot. “Market activity indicates a ‘risk-on’ sentiment at the current moment with investors driving stocks up. Expectations of global easing of liquidity by central banks have lifted investor sentiment and buoyed stock markets. With the exception of healthcare and FMCG, all other sectoral indices on the NSE traded with gains,” said Shreyash Devalkar, fund manager, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund. Metal and banking stocks led the pack of winners, with the respective indices on the NSE gaining more than 1.5 per cent during the day. Top Sensex gainers were ICICI Bank (4.68 per cent), Tata Steel (4.63 per cent), Axis Bank (3.03 per cent) and Maruti (2.27 per cent) while the major losers were Coal India (down 1.14 per cent) and Cipla (down 0.99 per cent).