Investors' Wealth Soars By Rs 6.59 Lakh Crore As Sensex Hits Record High

The Sensex surged by 1,593.03 points or 1.95 per cent to an all-time intra-day high of 83,116.19. It closed at a record high of 82,962.71, marking an increase of 1,440 points

Investors’ wealth surged by Rs 6.59 lakh crore on Thursday as Indian markets reached unprecedented levels. The benchmark BSE Sensex breached the historic 83,000 mark for the first time, driven by a strong rally towards the end of the trading session. The Sensex, a key barometer of the Indian stock market, surged by 1,593.03 points or 1.95 per cent to an all-time intra-day high of 83,116.19. It closed at a record high of 82,962.71, marking an increase of 1,439.55 points or 1.77 per cent for the day.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms skyrocketed to Rs 4,67,36,045.21 crore ($5.57 trillion), an increase of Rs 6,59,895.19 crore, reflecting the broader market rally.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities Ltd, attributed the surge to widespread buying support and optimism fueled by falling US bond yields and expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in its upcoming policy meeting.

Among the top gainers in the 30-share Sensex index were Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Nestle was the only notable laggard among the blue-chip stocks.

The broader market also showed strong performance, with the BSE midcap index rising by 1.32 per cent and the smallcap index climbing by 0.79 per cent. Key sectors, including metals (up 3.05 per cent), telecommunications (2.61 per cent), power (2.02 per cent), auto (1.99 per cent), utilities (1.93 per cent), and commodities (1.85 per cent) all recorded gains.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, highlighted that the bullish trend was in line with global market movements and was significantly driven by expectations of rate cuts from major global central banks, including the ECB and US Fed.

Out of the 2,335 stocks that advanced on the BSE, 1,612 declined, and 122 remained unchanged. Additionally, 278 stocks reached their 52-week highs, while 36 hit their 52-week lows.

Asian markets saw significant gains with Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong all closing higher, while Shanghai ended slightly lower. European markets were also trading up, and Wall Street recorded sharp gains the previous day.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, noted that the positive market movement was supported by heightened expectations of a 25 basis points rate cut by the US Fed following expected inflation data.