BSE Sensex Hits Record 59K Mark, Nifty Near 17,600. Indian Markets Become World's Sixth-Largest By Capitalisation

The BSE Sensex breached the 59,000 mark, while the broader Nifty was seen nearing 17,600 points on Thursday, a day of weekly F&O expiry.

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Mumbai: The BSE Sensex reached a new lifetime high of 59036, while the Nifty 50 index reached a new high of 17,594, boosted by banking stocks as Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to announce a government guarantee of up to Rs31,000 crore for the bad bank--National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL)--which has been set up to resolve the menace of bad loans plaguing public sector banks.

With the benchmark Sensex up more than 23% this year, India is now the world's sixth-largest stock market, surpassing France for the first time in terms of market capitalization.

The top Sensex gainers were IndusInd Bank, ITC, Tata Steel, State Bank of India (SBI), Power Grid Corporation of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dr. Reddy's Lab, and RIL.

The shares of automobile and telecom companies climbed a day after the central government approved support packages for both sectors.

The top index losers were Tech Mahindra, TCS, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, and Titan. Except for the Nifty IT, all of the indices were trading in the green. The Bank Nifty rose over 37,000 points, gaining nearly a fifth of a percent.

Private banks gained 0.45%, with lender IndusInd Bank surging 1.6% to be the Nifty 50 index's biggest gainer.

The S&P BSE Telecom index increased by 2%. On Wednesday, the federal cabinet approved a relief plan for the cash-strapped sector.

Vodafone Idea increased by more than 9%, while Bharti Airtel increased by 0.4%.

The government also authorized a $3.5 billion incentive program for the vehicle industry, which pushed auto stocks up 0.5%. Bosch Ltd, a maker of auto parts, gained 1.5%, leading the sector higher.

SEBI chairman Ajay Tyagi while addressing CII's  Financial Market Summit, said that the possible headwinds driving the markets are excess liquidity and a low-interest rate regime. "The PE ratio is very high for Sensex," said Mr. Tyagi.

When asked for comments, Nitin Purswani, CEO & Co-founder of Medius AI, told ABP News, "BSE reaching 59k is a sign of hope, and the rally might be attributed to several causes, including a decline in covid cases and a relaxation of the lockdown and vaccine effort. The economy is liberalizing, and there is ample evidence of growth and the lockdown's limited impact. A strong results season has benefited the markets significantly; however, many believe the markets are looking ahead two months since they always trade over the future outlook. Domestic factors such as improved immunizations and case management will help to greater consumer demand and more rapid recovery of the overall economy, reviving markets."