NEW DELHI: Domestic equity markets kicked off the new F&O series in style today, with BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty crossing 37,300 and 11,200 milestones for the first time ever.
The 30-share index Sensex rallied more than 300 points on Friday morning on account of better-than-expected quarterly earnings by select index heavyweights. Positive global cues as well as inflows by foreign institutional investors aided sentiment.
Going by the buzz, here are five factors that made the bulls take charge.
ITC cheers: The FMCG major alone contributed a rise of more than 125 points on the BSE Sensex in the morning trade. The scrip rallied more than 5 per cent post Q1 earnings.
The company on Thursday reported 10 per cent increase in standalone net profit at Rs 2,818.68 crore for the first quarter ended June, aided by lower expenses, good growth in agri-business and other FMCG business despite decline in cigarettes sales.
It had posted a standalone net profit of Rs 2,560.50 crore in the first quarter last fiscal. Robust buying in oil-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries and private lender ICICI Bank further supported the 30-share index.
FII comfort: Data showed that foreign institutional investors made sizeable buying on Thursday, which further supported sentiment. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 2,453.57 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net of Rs 2,716.04 crore yesterday, NSE provisional data showed.
Firm Asian leads: On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in the green at this point of time despite subdued cues from Wall Street, which saw technology stocks lag. The US markets ended mostly lower on Thursday as the worsening Sino-US trade dispute kept investors cautious, despite signs of rapprochement between the US and Europe.
Japan's Nikkei quoted 0.28 per cent higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.03 per cent in the early trade.
A stable rupee: Extending its rising streak for the third day, the rupee appreciated by 6 paise against the dollar to 68.60 in early session amid weakness in the greenback against other currencies overseas and a rally in domestic equities.
Technical push: Mazhar Mohammad of Chartview India on Thursday said, “Sustaining above 11,113 levels, the Nifty50 can initially target 11,241 and eventually, it should head towards 11,500 levels.
"The Bank Nifty, which had been languishing for last 10 sessions, registered a decisive breakout. This will keep the index afloat for further upswing towards bigger targets. Hence, traders are advised to hold their long positions with a stop below 11,100 closing basis and should make use of dips to create fresh longs,” he added.
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