Stock market extends winning steak; PSU bank at new high
Sensex closed 487 points, or 0.66%, higher at 74,339.44 while the Nifty closed the day with a gain of 168 points, or 0.75%, at 22,570.35 on the monthly F&O expiry day.
US Federal Reserve’s assurance to raise interest rates gradually and supportive clearances for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill gave markets strength to scale new highs and ending the week at historic highs.
During the week ended March 17, the Sensex gained 703 points or 2.4 per cent to 29,649 while the Nifty jumped 225 points or 2.5 per cent to 9,160.
The broader Nifty closed on Friday at an all-time high while the Sensex is only 350 points away from its historic high. On Thursday also the Nifty 50 index had closed at an all-time peak.
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Outperforming the front liners, The BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices jumped by 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.
Sectorally, BSE Realty index climbed the most, up by 5 per cent, while FMCG 4.7 per cent), Consumer Durables, Capital Goods, Power and Metal indices shined over 3-4.8 per cent.
This year so far, the Sensex and the Nifty have jumped nearly 11 per cent and some market analysts don’t see a major correction in the markets in the near term as the bull run is being driven by global equity markets.
The Rupee also followed the same bullish trend and ended at a multi-month high on fresh foreign institutional investors (FIIs) inflows.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked interest rates by 25 bps, as expected, signaling no pick-up in the pace of tightening rates.
Besides, Goods and Services Tax (GST) council on Friday set the stage for implementing GST on time by clearing two supporting bills, State GST Bill and Union Territory GST Bill.
Bhartiya Janata Partys landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections also played a supportive role for the equity markets.
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