Nifty scales new peak, crosses 24,650 mark: What's driving rally
The benchmark index Nifty soared past the 24,650 mark today, marking gains for the third consecutive session. The Sensex also moved closer to a new high, driven by expectations of a positive budget due on July 23. At 11:20 am, the Sensex was up by 0.2% at 80,844 and the Nifty was up by 0.23% at 24,647. "The momentum is still on the positive side," said Ruchit Jain, a research analyst at 5paisa.
Bajaj Auto in spotlight, broader markets outperform headline index
Bajaj Auto is drawing attention as it prepares to announce its Q1 FY25 results. The company's sales are expected to surge due to increased volumes and a diversified product mix. Meanwhile, the broader markets -- midcap and smallcap index -- outperformed the headline index, trading at 0.4 and 0.6%, respectively. "The market breadth is still quite strong," Jain noted, advising traders to consider taking partial profits as stocks enter an overbought zone.
Sectoral indices rise, realty emerges as biggest gainer
Among sectoral indices, realty, metal and energy stocks rose the most with realty being the biggest gainer on the bourses. However, healthcare, pharma and IT declined with IT index slipping by 0.4% each. BPCL, Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Adani Enterprises and ONGC were the top gainers on the Nifty while Dr Reddy's, LTI Mindree, HCL Tech, Hero MotoCorp and L&T were losers.
Market capitalization rises, investors eye pro-growth budget
Over 300 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE including Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and Grasim Industries. The overall market capitalization of firms listed on the BSE rose to nearly ₹455.1 lakh crore from nearly ₹452.4 lakh crore in the previous session. Market sentiment is buoyed by expectations of a pro-growth budget and healthy Q1 earnings of India Inc., along with the return of foreign capital inflow. However, investors are placing their bets selectively ahead of the budget announcement.
