Share Market Update: Domestic benchmark indices rose to record highs on Monday after Sensex and Nifty hitting new milestones. According to market reports, the S&P BSE Sensex swung 598 points during the session and finally settled 553.42 points, or 1.39 per cent, higher at 40,267.62 whereas the NSE Nifty 50 ended near 12,100, up 1.39 per cent. The broader market index represented by the NSE Nifty 500 Index also closed 1.2 per cent higher. On the back Lok Sabha election results and formation of the new government, Sensex had hit 40,000 intraday in the last two weeks but could not manage to go beyond that. The Sensex also hit a new intraday high of 40,308 today. Likewise, Nifty also took out the 12,000 level by settling at 12,088, up 1.4 per cent. In intraday, the Nifty also set a new milestone of 12,103.

Top Sensex gainers include Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, HUL, and Maruti, rallying up to 5.87 per cent. While, ICICI Bank, NTPC and ITC slipped up to 0.13 per cent. According to traders, investors lapped up stocks amid expectations of an interest rate cut by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) this week, especially after a disappointing GDP print for the March quarter. The Indian rupee appreciated 38 paise to 69.32 against the US dollar.

Data from Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that India's economic growth rate slowed to five-year low of 5.8 per cent during January-March quarter of 2018-19. The growth rate of the economy has weakened mainly due to poor performance in the farm sector as well as in the manufacturing sector.

The RBI may go for another round of rate cut, third in a row, on Thursday to prop up the economic growth which dropped to a five-year low in the final quarter of 2018-19, experts said. RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is slated to announce its bi-monthly policy Thursday. The central bank had cut the short-term lending rate (repo rate) by 25 basis points each in its last two policy reviews.

The MPC headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will meet for three days beginning June 3 to firm up the second bi-monthly monetary policy of the fiscal. Besides, a strengthening rupee too boosted investor sentiment here, traders said.