A broker reacts by trading on his computer terminal at a brokerage firm in Mumbai, India, June 29, 2015. REUTERS / Danish Siddiqui / Files
Indian stocks hit a week-long high on Friday and were headed for a strong weekly gain as banks firmed and metal’s shares hit new highs on strength in commodity prices, despite coronavirus cases countries registering a new daily record increase.
The NSE Nifty 50 Index (.NSEI) rose 0.68% to 14,825.35 at 4:34 a.m. GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.74% to 49,311.77. Both indices were established for weekly earnings of over 1% each.
Filled with cash, the stock market topped a record daily rise in domestic coronavirus cases of 414,188, bringing the total to 21.49 million. Several states have entered lockdowns to narrow the gap, leading economists to lower growth expectations for Asia’s third-largest economy. Read more
“Excessive liquidity and the hope that the implications of the pandemic will be short-lived will push the markets higher,” said Nikhil Kamath, co-founder and chief investment officer of stock broker Zerodha and management company of True Beacon assets.
Kamath added that the outlook for the markets could change “significantly” once the impact on economic growth of the current lockdowns becomes clear.
Heavyweight HDFC Bank (HDBK.NS) was the best boost, climbing 1.7% and pushing the Nifty Bank Index (.NSEBANK) up 1.3%.
Shares of Tata Steel (TISC.NS) rose 4.6% to a record high, driven by strong quarterly results and metal prices. The Nifty Metal Index (.NIFTYMET) was the top performer, climbing 2.8% to an all-time high.
Hero MotoCorp (HROM.NS), the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, slipped more than 3% after rising for the first time after better-than-expected quarterly profit. The title had risen by more than 3% this week as the results approached.
Parallel heavy lender HDFC Ltd (HDFC.NS) and UltraTech Cement (ULTC.NS), which are expected to release quarterly results later today, rose around 1% each.
The wider stock markets were firm amid high commodity prices and after a strong close on Wall Street following an optimistic report on US jobless claims.
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