Shares of Sensex and Nifty were up around 0.2% each at the time of writing. Their scores were 65,685 points and 19,449 points, respectively.
Post Dates – Friday 11:45am – July 23rd 14th
New Delhi: Indian stock indexes continued to be strong, with Friday’s trading start on a positive note.
They hit new highs on Thursday, with the benchmark Sensex breaching the 66,000 mark in the process.
Shares of Sensex and Nifty were up around 0.2% each at the time of writing. Their scores were 65,685 points and 19,449 points, respectively.
Thirty-one companies in the Nifty 50 were in the red this morning, while the rest posted losses. HCL Tech, LTIMindtree, Hindalco, Infosys, Tech Mahindra were the top gainers. The top five losers were Power Grid, HDFC Life, Apollo Hospitals, NTPC and Axis Bank.
Sustained inflows from foreign portfolio funds, a firm economic outlook, firming global markets and benign inflation have fueled the recent bull run in Indian equities. However, some analysts noted that a further rebound from current levels is unlikely due to high valuations.
VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said the (sustained) depreciation of the dollar favors emerging markets, and with India being the most favored emerging market, FPI flows are likely to persist.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) remained net buyers of Indian equities for the fourth month in a row, according to National Securities Depository (NSDL) data.
The data showed that FPIs purchased Indian equities worth Rs 79.36 billion, Rs 116.31 billion, Rs 438.38 billion and Rs 471.48 billion in March, April, May and June respectively.
Indian stock indexes continued to rise even as retail inflation data for June showed a sharp rise.
India’s June retail inflation bucked the trend and rose sharply to 4.81%, mainly due to a sharp rise in vegetable prices. Rural and urban inflation indices were 4.72% and 4.96% respectively.
The rise in inflation may partly be attributed to the current spike in tomato prices across India. Tomato prices have been reported to be increasing across the country and not just limited to a specific area or region. In major cities, the price is as high as Rs 150-160 per kg.
In addition to vegetables, meat and fish; eggs; pulses and products; spices index also rose.
On the positive side, while India’s retail inflation rose sharply in June, it remained within the RBI’s tolerance range (2-6%) for the fourth month in a row and is expected to do so in other financial periods. 2023-24.
However, continued vigilance over the changing inflation outlook is warranted given the erratic progress of the monsoon and its impact on Kharif crop planting, SBI Research said in its latest ‘Ecowrap’ report written by SBI Group Chief Economic Adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh. And subsequent overall food inflation.
Indian farmers have started sowing kharif crops. Rice, moong, bajra, maize, groundnut, soybean and cotton are the main kharif crops.
