Mumbai, India (BBN) – The broader NSE index on Thursday hit its highest in nearly two years and moved close to breaching a key psychological level of 9,000 on continued hopes about the domestic economy after auto manufacturers reported higher sales.
Domestic sentiment was also boosted as Asian stocks inched to a 19-month high, a day after Wall Street hit record highs as investors were encouraged by President Donald Trump’s less-combative tone in his first speech to Congress, reports The Hindu Business Line.
The global rally is coming at a time of growing hopes about India’s own economy.
At 12.25pm local time, the NSE index was up 27.25 points or 0.27 per cent at 8,969.85, after climbing as much as 0.52 per cent to 8,992.50, its highest since March 4, 2015.
The benchmark BSE index was up 82.95 points or 0.29 per cent at 29,067.44.
The index gained as much as 0.56 per cent to 29,145.62, its highest since March 13, 2015.
Among BSE sectoral indices, auto index gained the most by 1.23 per cent, capital goods 0.55 per cent, metal 0.5 per cent and consumer durables 0.33 per cent.
On the other hand, realty index fell the most by 2.06 per cent, healthcare 0.66 per cent, power 0.56 per cent and oil & gas 0.32 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Motors (+3.74 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (+2.32 per cent), Bajaj Auto (+2.09 per cent), Coal India (+1.36 per cent) and Wipro (+1.02 per cent), while the major losers were Sun Pharma (-2.29 per cent), Bharti Airtel (-1.49 per cent), NTPC (-1.37 per cent), Dr Reddy’s (-1.36 per cent) and Adani Ports (-0.99 per cent).
Auto shares such as Tata Motors Ltd gained after reporting higher monthly sales, further raising hopes about the economy.
The Nifty Auto index was the best performing sector, with Tata Motors rising 3 per cent after posting a two percent jump in February total sales.
“There is a positive underlining sentiment in the Indian market,” said Tirthankar Patnaik, India strategist, Mizuho Bank.
Data on Tuesday showed annual gross domestic product (GDP) in the October-December quarter was much stronger than expected, cheering market sentiment despite widespread scepticism by economists.
Brokers said that the domestic sentiment was buoyed due to a firm trend in other Asian markets after the US bourses closed at new highs yesterday.
There has been a growing optimism over corporate tax cuts and other policy proposals reiterated by US President Donald Trump during his speech before the Congress.
ASIAN SHARES
Asian shares rose on Thursday as investors were encouraged by President Donald Trump’s less combative tone in his first speech to Congress, which sent Wall Street stocks sharply higher, while growing bets on a US rate hike this month buoyed the dollar.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7 per cent, led by rebounds in Australian and Hong Kong shares.
WALL STREET RALLY
The Dow on Wednesday blasted through the 21,000 mark for the first time after US President Donald Trump’s measured tone in his first speech to Congress lifted optimism and investors viewed a looming interest rate hike as a glass half full.

The three main stock indexes surged more than 1.3 per cent to close at record highs.
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