Indian stock market benchmark BSE Sensex on Thursday surged beyond the 50,000-mark in morning trade for the first time since March, with the Nifty 50 also going beyond the 14,700-mark. The Sensex has nearly doubled in value in nearly 10 months.

The record highs, witnessed across global markets, were attributed to the formal inauguration of United States President Joe Biden on Wednesday. In his inaugural address, the 46th president assured Americans that he would provide a positive example to the world under his leadership. Kamala Harris was also sworn in on Wednesday as the first woman Asian African American Vice President of the US.

At 10.51 am, the Sensex reached 50,082.59, or 290.47 points (0.58%) higher than the previous day’s closing, while Nifty 50 stood at 14,730.50, or 85.8 points (0.59%) higher.

In the early trade, all the sectoral indices traded in the green, led by gains in banking, financial services, and automobile shares.

The gains on the Sensex were led by Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Reliance, Axis Bank and Bajaj Auto. On the Nifty 50, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, UPL Limited, and Reliance made profits.

HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, and Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited were among those who incurred losses on the Sensex. Meanwhile, the top losers on the Nifty 50 were HDFC Bank, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and Tata Consultancy Services.

“The smooth transition in the US and President Biden’s healing speech lifted the US markets to record highs,” VK Vijayakumar, the chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services told Mint. “This feel-good factor is likely to spread to other markets too.”

The Indian rupee made gains of 7 paise to trade close to the five-month high of 72.98 against the US dollar.

Asian markets also showed rises after tracking American shares. Around 9.58 am Indian Standard Time, Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded at 28,791 points or 0.94% higher than the previous close. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed at 30,012.19 points, or 0.17% higher, and Taiwan’s TSEC 50 Index reached 16,197.05 points, or 2.47%.

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