Indian shares hit record high, log weekly gains on US rate cut euphoria
Updates to close
By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Indian shares surged to record highs and registered weekly gains on Friday, as an outsized interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve earlier in the week whetted investor risk appetite across global markets.
The NSE Nifty 50 .NSEI added 1.48% to 25,790.95 and the S&P BSE Sensex .BSESN gained 1.63% to 84,544.31, logging record closing highs.
The Sensex also rose above 84,000 for the first time on Friday.
For the week, the Nifty and Sensex gained 1.7% and 2%, respectively, posting a fifth week of gains in six.
The 50-basis-points Fed rate cut on Wednesday and data showing smaller-than-expected weekly jobless claims on Thursday sparked hopes of the U.S. economy achieving a soft landing - a scenario where inflation cools without triggering a recession.
The Fed rate cut has improved global sentiment and could trigger a rally in markets because emerging markets like India will become more attractive due to the possibility of higher returns and foreign inflows will also rise, said Divam Sharma, founder and fund manger at Green Portfolio PMS.
Twelve of the 13 major sectors logged gains. The metals index .NIFTYMET jumped 1.7%, with 12 of its 15 constituents rising.
Demand prospects for metals improved on the back of the Fed rate cut and expectations of stimulus from top consumer China. MET/L
JSW Steel JSTL.NS leaped 3.5% after Macquarie upgraded stock to "outperform" from "buy", saying that it sees the global rate easing cycle benefitingdomestic steel makers.
The auto index .NIFTYAUTO gained 1.9% and financials .NIFTYFIN rose 1.6%, powering the market rally.
The broader, more domestically focussed small- .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 rose 1% and 1.5%, respectively.
Among individual stocks, non-bank lender IIFL Finance IIFL.NS jumped 7% after the Reserve Bank of India lifted curbs on its gold loan business.
Mankind Pharma MNKI.NS soared 4.5% to a record high after Investec initiated coverage with "buy", forecasting an upside of 37.7% in 12 months.
India's Sensex hits record high, rises above 84,000 for the first time https://reut.rs/4dbFapZ
Weekly performance of India's key stock indexes https://reut.rs/3BdK5JS
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Eileen Soreng, Varun H K and Sumana Nandy
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