Sensex, Nifty continue to climb new highs; consumer durables, FMCG stocks rise
Mumbai, July 27: The bull run in the domestic equity indices continued on Friday, with both the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 climbing to fresh record levels.
The barometer Sensex set a new benchmark of 37,327 points, and the Nifty50 touched an all-time high of 11,253.90 points.
Healthy buying activity was witnessed in the consumer durables, banking and FMCG stocks, analysts said.
Index-wise, the wider Nifty50 traded at 11,249.10 points (12.26 p.m.), higher by 81.80 points or 0.73 per cent from the previous close.
The 30-scrip Sensex, which had opened at 37,253.86 points, traded at 37,290.16 points (12.26 p.m.), against the previous close of 36,984.64 points. So far, it has touched an intra-day low of 37,134.88 points.
The major gainers of the Sensex were Tata Motors (DVR), ITC, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto while Adani Ports, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services and Mahindra and Mahindra lost the most.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
