Sensex ends above 38,000 for first time, Nifty at all-time closing high; banks fuel rally

After clocking a fresh milestone of 38,000, the Sensex has managed to end the day above this mark. The Nifty, too, isn’t very far behind and ended above 11,450-mark. The levels are new all-time closing highs for both the indices.

Banks led the rally for equity benchmarks, with major gains coming in from PSU banks. Investors are hopeful of stellar June quarter numbers from State Bank of India on Friday and hence placed big bets on the stock. This fuelled the upmove in banks in general. Additionally, buying counters were also buzzing in ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, which helped the market climb to new highs on Thursday. 

Metals also offered some support to the market, with the Nifty Metal index ending over a percent higher. Gains in Vedanta boosted the index. A strong upmove was visible among midcaps as well, as the midcap index ended higher by over half a percent. 

At the close of market hours, the Sensex ended up 136.81 points or 0.36% at 38024.37, while the Nifty closed higher by 21.60 points or 0.19% at 11471.60. The market breadth was, however, narrow as 1,336 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,327 shares, while 148 shares were unchanged.

ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI were the top gainers, while Bharti Airtel, ONGC and Titan were the top losers.   

Buzzing: Shares of J Kumar Infraprojects added 5.2 percent as company bagged 4 orders worth Rs 1,523 crore.

The company's Q1FY19 net profit rose 55.8 percent at Rs 40.18 crore against Rs 25.8 crore in a year ago period. Revenue was up 49.2 percent at Rs 618.4 crore versus Rs 414.5 crore.

Bitcoin takes a hit: Nine out of top 10 cryptocurrencies nosedived on Wednesday following it to on Thursday losing as much as 15% from the level 24-hours-ago. Bitcoin dropped below $6,500 in the period, a cue followed by other major coins.

The most valued cryptocurrency in the world broke the $7,000 barrier Monday for the first time in last seven days and went on a roller coaster ride for next two days. The coin broke the barrier on Tuesday at 0100 UTC and never looked back.

At press time, bitcoin was exchanging hands at $6,384. The market cap of the cryptocurrency has also dropped to $109 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

After a long gap, bitcoin had touched $8,000 last month. However, all hopes of its meteoric rise like last year were dashed as it tumbled in the subsequent fortnight.

Mutual fund outlook: "Recovery in domestic equity markets in July saw a 5% jump in sales in equity mutual funds during the month. The pace of redemption however increased likely due to some profit booking in portfolios resulting in net inflows of Rs 8,512 crore. Net inflows in equities have continued to decline for the fourth month in row since April. Meanwhile, inflows into fixed maturity plans (FMPs) have picked up since May 2018 averaging over Rs 10,000 crore each month. Inflows into FMPs in July 2018 remained significant but slowed to Rs 7,674 crore. Due to the recent spike in yields, retail investors are choosing to lock their returns by investing into FMPs," Stephen Groening – Director, Investment Solutions at Sharekhan.  

Market Update: Equity benchmarks have maintained their solid momentum through the morning, with the Sensex trading well above 38,000-mark, while the Nifty is trading around 11,470. 

The Sensex is up 129.26 points or 0.34% at 38016.82, while the Nifty has risen 25.40 points or 0.22% at 11475.40. The market breadth is narrow as 1,292 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,019 shares, while 132 shares were unchanged.

All sectoral indices are trading in the green and banks have continued to lead the charts. The Nifty PSU bank index is up almost 3 percent. Midcap index is trading higher as well. The top gainers include ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, while Airtel, ONGC and Titan have lost the most.  

Buzzing: Shares of Ramco System added 8 percent as company won multi-million-dollar software deal from Philippines' Air Freight leader AP Cargo.

AP Cargo Logistic Network Corp., Philippines' leading domestic provider of express logistics for air cargo and other goods, announced that it will implement Ramco Systems' Logistics Software to streamline its freight operations nationwide.

As part of the agreement, Ramco will implement its unified, mobile-friendly modules for transport management, hub management; warehouse management, fleet management, visibility; rating and billing, finance and accounting, integrated with end-to-end HR and Payroll compliant with Philippines' statutory requirements at AP Cargo.  

Market Opens: The bulls continued their upward momentum as equity benchmarks started the day on a strong note, with Nifty, Sensex and Nifty Bank opened at record high. Sensex touched 38,000 for the first time, while Nifty is trading around 11,500.

The Sensex is up 117.47 points at 38,005.03, and the Nifty up 27.70 points at 11,477.70. About 671 shares have advanced, 348 shares declined, and 61 shares are unchanged.

All sectoral indices are trading in the green, with maximum gain seen in metal, energy and PSU banks.

HPCL, BPCL, IOC, Axis Bank, SBI, Hindalco, Vedanta, Selan Exploration are the gainers, while Lupin, Dr Reddy's Lab, Titan, Ashok Leyland, NMDC are on the losing side in the morning trade.

Rupee Opens: The Indian rupee gained in the early trade on Thursday. It has opened higher by 14 paise at 68.48 per dollar against previous close 68.62.

Rupee closed almost flat against the US dollar and traded with low volatility as most market participants have been following escalation of ongoing trade war between two major economies, said Motilal Oswal.

Yesterday, Chinese commerce ministry announced that it has decided to impose additional tariffs of 25% on USD 16 billion worth of US imports from fuel and steel products to autos and medical equipment.

The tariffs will be activated on August 23, the ministry said, the same day that the United States plans to begin collecting 25% extra in tariffs on USD 16 billion of Chinese goods. Dollar corrected against its major crosses after the announcement and that supported the rupee on lower levels. Today, USD-INR pair is expected to quote in the range of 68.40 and 68.95, it added. 

Market at pre-open: Pre-opening trends indicate that the Sensex and Nifty have strong start with Nifty hitting another milestone of 11,500.

At 09:02 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 125.28 points at 38,012.84, and the Nifty up 51.10 points at 11,501.10.

Indian Bank, HPCL, BPCL, Cipla, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Reliance Industries are among the major gainers in the pre-opening trade.