INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Another day, another record high!
Election optimism, hopes of another rate cut by RBI and strong FII inflows propelled BSE
benchmark Sensex to a record closing high on Tuesday, a day after it scaled all-time peak of 39,115.
Domestic markets kept tracking the
rally in global stocks all throughout
Overseas markets hovered near their six-month highs although crude's ascent to $70 a barrel proved to be a major overhang
Setting aside the oil worries, the rupee staged a comeback and jumped 19 paise to 68.97 against the dollar
The domestic currency slipped as much as 20 paise earlier in the morning.
While the close came at 39,057 for the 30-share Sensex, with a
gain of 185 points, or 0.48 per cent, the broader NSE Nifty settled at 11,713, up 44 points, or 0.38 per cent
The market bulletinThe Sensex heatmap showed 18 issues ended in the green and 12 in the red
Tata Motors hogged the limelight, surging the most by 8.36 per cent, after its British luxury car unit Jaguar Land Rover on Friday
reaffirmed expectations of a financially better fourth quarter
The stock has gained 19.72 per cent in the last four days
Bharti Airtel, TCS, Bajaj Finance and Power Grid saw a good day in office, rising up to 5 per cent.
Bajaj Auto was not as lucky, declining
Midcap and smallcap indices failed to ride the rally
BSE Midcap declined by 0.04 per cent whereas BSE Smallcap came off by 0.18 per cent
Realty and telecom led the charge among sectoral gainers, jumping 2.66 per cent and 1.54 per cent, respectively
Meanwhile, oil gas slipped the most by 0.61 per cent.
The factors that did the talkingAccording to market analysts, the wide consensus
remains that the Reserve Bank of India will go for another 25 bps rate cut in its first bi-monthly policy meet outcome on April 4, shortly
before India goes to poll
"The Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI is likely to opt for a 25 bps rate cut, given that inflation in Q4 FY19 is tracking 2.5 per cent,
Nevertheless, we believe the RBI will refrain from more aggressive easing, given the uncertainty around the monsoon outlook, the inclination
towards populist fiscal policies around elections, and the need to assess transmission by banks."
World stocks hovered just under a
six-month high on Tuesday as Brent inched up towards $70 a barrel for the first time since November, Brexit fatigue sapped sterling and the
dollar showed signs of gaining strength again
Most European bourses posted slight gains early on, helped by Britain's exporter-heavy FTSE 100, which climbed as much as 0.5 per cent as
exporters cheered the fourth fall in sterling in the last five days
Chinese blue-chips scored a 10-month high having leapfrogged Colombia to the top of the leaderboard of world share markets, Reuters
reported.
The domestic currency made a smart bounce on Tuesday
It was some 20 paise higher after slipping by the same value in the opening trade
Besides FII inflows, hopes of an RBI rate cut are what fed the rupee bulls.
Expert TakeVinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial
Services Ltd
Market maintained the positive momentum, but struggled to cross above the all-time high due to profit booking in which mid and
small caps underperformed
Inflow of foreign liquidity in expectation of rate cut from RBI and revival in earnings will provide some stability in the market."
