Sensex hits record high, Nifty rises above 24,900 for the first time

Benchmark stock market indices opened today (July 19) on a positive note tracking positive developments in the US economy and sustained momentum from Q1 results. The BSE Sensex touched an all-time high of 81,720.25 at the opening bell. The NSE Nifty50 rose to 24,980.45 and may cross the 25,000 milestone today. Other broader market indices also opened the trading session on a positive note.
Top five gainers on the Nifty50 were NTPC, BPCL, ICICI Bank, SBI and Shriram Finance while top losers were Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Titan, Cipla, Tata Consumer Products and SBI Life.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The undercurrent of this bull market has turned stronger on positive cues. The soft landing scenario for the US economy and expectation of rate cut by the Fed in September are intact. This will provide the global support to this bull market. The decline in the US 10-year bond yield to 4.17% and decline in Brent crude to $ 81.2 are other supporting factors.”
“In a departure from recent trends both FIIs and DIIs turned buyers last Friday resulting in a total buying of ₹5320 crores pushing the market sharply up. DIIs which were sitting on cash waiting for clarity on tax proposals in the Budget have started deploying funds, particularly in quality largecaps, which explains the sharp rally in the Nifty,” he added, explaining, “In the current scenario, the market will likely ignore the valuation concerns and march ahead. ICICI bank has posted good Q1 numbers. The market is largely ignoring the good results of banking stocks on fears of potential margin compression due to slow growth in deposits.”