The domestic benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty achieved another milestone on Wednesday, scaling their new lifetime highs, driven by rally in index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, and M&M, as well as positive cues from global peers. The 30-share Sensex surged as much as 633 points to cross the 80,000-mark for the first time and touching its new record high of 80,074 points in intraday trade, while the Nifty50 index jumped 184 points to scale a new height of 24,307 during the session so far.
HDFC Bank, the most weighted stock on Nifty50, topped the gainers’ chart by rising as much as 3.54% to hit a 52-week high of ₹1,791.90 on the BSE, driven by growing optimism that its weight in the MSCI Global Standard Index could increase. The private bank stocks were among top performers, with Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, emerging as top performers, gaining in the range of 1-3%.
Among others, Bajaj twins- Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India, Power Grid, Infosys, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, ITC were among notable gains, rising between 1-2%.
On the other hand, Reliance Industries, the country’s most valued stock, was the top laggard with a 1.5% loss, followed by Tata Group companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Titan, which dropped up to 1%.
As per the exchange data, Sensex journey from 75,000 to 80,000 levels has been significantly fast, adding 5,000 points in less than three months. For covering 1,000-point climb from 70,000 on December 11, 2023, the benchmark index took less than 7 months, precisely 138 trading sessions, which is the fastest ever. In the calendar year 2024, the BSE benchmark added more than 14,746 points, while it climbed over 8,595 points in the past six months, despite volatility in the past few months amid Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
The recent rally in the domestic stock market can be attributed to India’s GDP growth, credit expansion, ease in volatility, and policy continuity after the Modi government came back to power for the third time. In the near term, market attention is expected to centre around the economic agenda of the new government, Union Budget, progress of the monsoon, and institutional funds flow.
Going ahead, Morgan Stanley Research predicts that the Indian economy could surpass Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest by 2027. In parallel, the domestic stock market is on track to rank third in the world by the end of this decade. The agency expects Sensex to reach 82,000 mark within the next 12 months, an upside potential of 6% from the current level, driven by stronger-than-consensus earnings growth.
According to the foreign brokerage house, the market’s confidence in India’s growth picture has driven stock valuations higher, discounting expectations of future cash flows at lower rates of return.
Domestic brokerage Prabhudas Lillladher expects Nifty to reach 25,816 in the next 12-month, saying that progressive budget, normal monsoons and strong inflows will further re-rate markets.
Another domestic brokerage, Axis Securities has given Nifty target of 24,600 by valuing it at 20x on Mar’26 earnings. The agency believes that the money may flow towards largecap stocks in the near term, recommending investors to remain invested in the market and build a position in high-quality companies (where the earnings visibility is quite high) with an investment horizon of 12-18 months.
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