Mumbai: India’s benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices on Monday hit an all-time high after better-than-expected macroeconomic data boosted investor confidence.
During the day, the Sensex touched a record high of 32,687.32 points and gained as much as 0.8% or 251 points, while 50-stock Nifty index touched its lifetime high of 10,242.95, up 0.8% or 80 points.
The Sensex has gained in 10 out of 12 trading sessions and surged nearly 4.5% or 1,404 points in the same period.
On Friday, the government said that the merchandise exports grew 25.7%, the fastest pace in six months in September to $28.60 billion, helping cut the trade deficit to a seventh-month low to $8.90 billion, belying concerns that implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) from 1 July may blunt export competitiveness.
Industrial production grew to a nine-month high of 4.3% in August, while retail inflation was unchanged at 3.28% in September. Though most analysts think that the rebound in Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is largely a result of re-stocking and early festive season and may not necessarily be a true reflection of underlying activity, they expect an interest rate cut in December.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation data for September will be released on Monday. According to Bloomberg analysts’ poll, WPI will be at 3.3% from 3.24% a month ago.
Reliance Industries Ltd is up after it reported on Friday a 12.5% increase in consolidated net profit for July-September. Its gross refining margin (GRM) in Q2 was at a nine-year high of $12 per barrel.