Markets waltz to record closing highs; Nifty at 7,874

Markets continued their winning streak for the fifth straight session, amid firm European cues, to end at fresh record closing highs after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a scheme for financial inclusion while easing whole-sale price inflation also boosted sentiment. Further, renewed buying interest from foreign funds helped support the market.



The 30-share Sensex closed at a record high of 26,391 and the Nifty gained 83 points to close at a high of 7,874. ICICI Bank, ONGC and Tata Motors contributed to nearly 50% gain seen on the Nifty.



Earlier, on July 24, 2014, the 30-share Sensex had ended at record closing high of 26,272 up 125 points and the 50-share Nifty had ended at 7,831 up by 35 points.



Broader markets were no different. The mid and smallcap indices powered in late trades with the respective trades up 2% each.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his maiden Independence Day speech announced a new financial scheme to help the poor open bank accounts.



Under the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' scheme, the person who will open bank account will get a debit card and the family will get Rs 1 lakh insurance cover to tide over any unforeseen eventuality.



Whole-sale price inflation dipped to a five month low of 5.19% in July mainly on account of decline in prices of some food articles, vegetables and protein rich items. It was at 5.43% last month and 5.84% in July 2013.



Foreign Institutional Investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 1,714 crore in the previous three sessions, as per provisional data on the stock exchange.



Sectors & Stocks



The rally was visible across the sectors barring defensive pockets like IT and FMCG.



Oil & Gas lead the sectoral rally with gains of over 2.5% followed by Bankex and Capital Goods up 2.3% each.



Health Care, Auto, Consumer Durables, Metal, Power and Realty indices gained 1-1.7%.



Defensives IT and FMCG indices slipped 0.4% each.



ITC, Infosys, HDFC and TCS down 0.4-1.7% were the only scrips in red among Sensex-30.



Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, BPCL, Sun Pharma, Cipla and Maruti Suzuki from the 50-share Nifty index touched their respective lifetime highs on strong buying by overseas and domestic institutional investors.



ONGC, Cipla, Axis Bank, BHEL, Tata Motors and ICIC Bank up 3.5-5.3% were the top gainers in today’s trade.



Bharti Airtel, SBI, L&T, Hindalco and Coal India up 2-2.5% were the other notable movers.



The market breadth was positive on BSE. 1,930 stocks advanced while 1,002 stocks declined.