FIRST TRADE: Indices record fresh highs; Sensex rises over 200 pts; Nifty surpasses 21,700 amid strong global cues

Stock market today: The stock market continued its record-breaking spree on Thursday, December 28, as both Sensex and Nifty hit their all-time highs, fuelled by a global rally over the optimism that the US central bank would start cutting rates as soon as next March.

The Nifty surpassed 21,700 for the first time, and the Sensex reached a life high at 72,275.36. Last seen, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 218.77 points, or 0.31 per cent, higher at 72,260.98, and the NSE Nifty was up 65.5 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 21,720.25.

"The rally looks set to continue, supported by the leading banks, which are witnessing institutional accumulation. Strong cues from the mother market (the US), steadily declining US bond yields, and the dollar index below 101 augur well for the continuation of the rally. It is important to note that high-quality large caps have taken the leadership in this rally, which has taken the Sensex above 72k," said Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The expert added that a significant market indicator is the volatility index VIX, which is rising above 15. "Investors should take this as an indication of the high volatility ahead. Remaining invested is important in a bull market. But chasing the market at high valuations would be highly risky."

Meanwhile, the Nifty Mid Cap 100 and Small Cap 100 opened in positive territory. Nifty Bank was up 0.29 per cent at 48,424.55.

BUZZING STOCKS

Suzlon Energy shares were up over 1 per cent on BSE despite the company getting a Goods and Services Tax (GST) notice from the Rajasthan GST Department.

KPI Green Energy shares closed over 5 per cent after the company commissioned solar power projects totaling 17.35 MWp with its subsidiary, KPIG Energia Private Limited.

The Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services index traded in green after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a report on banking and NBFC trends in FY23, which showed that the Indian banking system was well positioned to improve further.

Canara Bank shares were up over 2 per cent as the company's mutual fund subsidiary, Canara Robecco AMC, is to be listed via the IPO route.

Suprajit Engineering shares were up over 7 per cent. HDFC Mutual Fund, via the open market, purchased 29.2 lakh shares of the company.

Conversely, Zomato shares were down over 2 per cent after the food delivery services company received a tax liability notice of Rs 402 crore.

GLOBAL MARKETS 

Asian shares touched five-month highs on Thursday as market wagers on ever-more aggressive rate cuts extended a huge rally in US stocks and bonds but also left plenty of scope for disappointment next year.

The S&P 500 has climbed 14 per cent in just two months to within a whisker of its all-time closing peak, while its price-to-earnings ratio is up by a quarter on the year at 24.0.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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