Benchmark indices hit fresh lifetime highs on Tuesday, with the Sensex crossing 69000 for the first time as the euphoria over the state election results and the renewed inflow of FII funds swept the bourses.
The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 431.02 points, or 0.63 per cent, to close at a new record high of 69296.14 after touching an intra-day peak of 69381.31, another record.
The broader Nifty rallied 168.50 points, or 0.81 per cent, to hit its lifetime high of 20855.30 as close to 32 of its components ended in the green.
The gains came on increased expectations that the US Fed could resort to aggressive rate cuts in 2024 to avert its economy from falling into recession.
Many are betting that the reduction could begin as early as March-April, while others feel it will happen only in the second half of the calendar year.
Besides, the mood was buoyant on the back of strong FII participation coupled with positive sentiment after the results of assembly polls of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Provisional data from the stock exchanges showed foreign investors making net purchases of Rs 5,224 crore on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the rupee recovered from an all-time low of 83.41 on a stronger dollar overseas to end flat at 43.38 against the previous close of 83.36.
While the Reserve Bank of India was largely absent, the domestic unit was stuck in a narrow range as the key indices hit record highs and crude oil prices traded below the $80 per barrel mark.
Adani stocks zoom
On Tuesday, the Adani group saw almost Rs 1.93 trillion added to its market cap, its largest one-day gain since the Hindenburg allegations. This rally took the conglomerate’s market value to an 11-month high of Rs 13.88 lakh crore.
Investors rooted for the stock after a report said US funding agency International Development Finance Corp (DFC) had vetted the conglomerate thoroughly and found no evidence of wrongdoing before extending a $553 million loan for the deepwater West Container terminal in Sri Lanka’s Colombo port.
According to a Bloomberg report, the US government concluded that Hindenburg’s allegations of corporate fraud against Gautam Adani were irrelevant.
Quoting an official from the agency, the report said that it had conducted due diligence on the conglomerate. Following this analysis, it was satisfied that the charges made in the January 2023 report that Adani was pulling off “the largest con in corporate history,” did not apply to Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which is leading the Sri Lankan project.
The bumper rally saw two group firms — Adani Total Gas and Adani Energy Solutions (formerly Adani Transmission) being locked at the 20 per cent upper circuit while others gained up to 18.41 per cent.
APSEZ rose 15.15 per cent on the BSE to Rs 1,011.85 as its market capitalisation touched Rs 2.19 lakh crore.
The group's flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd saw its shares rising 17.03 per cent which increased its market valuation around Rs 49,000 crore to Rs 3.37 lakh crore on the BSE.
Media firm NDTV was another counter that saw a big move as its shares vaulted 18.41 per cent to Rs 266.55 on the BSE. Among the other group stocks, Adani Power rose almost 16 per cent.
