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Sensex Hits Record Closing High As Fed Rate-hike Fears Ease

The NSE Nifty 50 index closed up 1.78 per cent at a more-than-one-year high of 18,349.70, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 1.95 per cent to a record close of 61,795.04

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Indian shares rose on Friday, with the blue-chip S&P BSE Sensex hitting a record closing high on a rally in IT companies and banks, as cooling US inflation raised hopes for a less hawkish Federal Reserve.

The NSE Nifty 50 index closed up 1.78 per cent at a more-than-one-year high of 18,349.70, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 1.95 per cent to a record close of 61,795.04.

Both the indexes logged their fourth straight weekly gain, rising over 1 per cent this week.

US Labor Department's data on Thursday showed the annual increase in the consumer price index was below 8 per cent for the first time in eight months. The Nasdaq surged 7.4 per cent on Thursday.

India will report its October inflation number next week.

"We are seeing a relief rally in the IT stocks following Nasdaq's overnight jump," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice-president, research, at SMC Global Securities.

"Inflation is cooling off but it is still above the tolerance level. Fed's policy actions will be more data dependent going forward," Jain added.

The Nifty IT index surged 3.8 per cent. The bank Nifty index gained as much as 1.8 per cent to hit another record high on strong earnings from lenders amid higher credit growth and improved asset quality.

Private lender HDFC Bank and its major shareholder Housing Development Finance Corp rose more than 7 per cent to mark their biggest intraday gains in more than seven months.

Eicher Motors was the top loser on the Nifty 50 index, falling 4.90 per cent after the Royal Enfield owner's quarterly profit missed estimates.

Shares of Zomato jumped 13.8 per cent after the Indian food delivery firm reported a narrower loss for the second quarter on Thursday.

(Reuters)


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