Indian Sensex Breaks 60,000 Tech Bar, Bank Stocks Rise

BENGALURU, Sept.24 (Reuters) – India’s benchmark Sensex broke the 60,000 mark for the first time on Friday, driven by tech stocks and private banks, as analysts pointed to appeasement of fears about economic damage from a possible third wave of COVID-19.

The blue chip NSE Nifty 50 (.NSEI) index rose 0.59% to 17,928.95 at 0502 GMT, after hitting an all-time high earlier in the session, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) was up 0.67% to 60,285.25.

Indian stocks were heading for their fifth consecutive weekly gain as analysts said a rapid vaccination campaign had lessened fears of another blow to the economy from the pandemic.

Concerns over the fallout from debt-ridden real estate developer China Evergrande (3333.HK) were also somewhat dampened, while a meeting of the US Federal Reserve did not come as a surprise, said Narendra Solanki, head of finance. equity research at Anand Rathi Investment Services.

In Mumbai trading, technology stocks (.NIFTYIT) jumped 2.7% to a record high, with HCL Technologies (HCLT.NS) rising more than 3% to be among the biggest winners of the Nifty 50. Upbeat outlook from its US peers Accenture (ACN.N) and Salesforce (CRM.N) helped bolster gains on Wall Street overnight.

Private banks (.NIFPVTBNK) were up 0.4%, while HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS) rose 1%, with the sub-index heading for its second consecutive weekly gain.

Real estate stocks (.NIFTYREAL) jumped 1.6% to their highest level in nearly 11 years, with the sector poised to jump more than 20% for the week.

Metals stocks (.NIFTYMET) fell 1.3% to post three straight sessions of gains, while consumer goods (.NIFTYFMCG) fell 0.4% but were on course to gain more than 1% for the week.

Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; Edited by Ramakrishnan M.

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