FINAL TRADE: Nifty registers record close, Sensex settles 493 pts higher; financial stocks jump

Stock market today: The domestic blue-chip index Nifty hit a fresh record high of 20,291.55 on Friday (December 1) and ended at a record close of 20,267.9, up 0.67 per cent, aided by buying in financial, FMCG, and construction stocks. Meanwhile, Sensex closed 0.74 per cent higher at 67,481.19 as faster-than-expected economic growth in the September quarter added to optimism over the global interest rate outlook.

In sectoral indices, Nifty Bank finished 0.75 per cent higher at 44,814.2, helped by buying in PNB, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda. Among broad market indices, Nifty MidCap 100 finished 1.1 per cent higher, while Nifty SmallCap closed 0.48 per cent higher.

ITC, NTPC, Axis Bank, and L&T were among the top gainers in the Nifty basket, which traded with gains of around 2-3 per cent. On the other hand, Wipro, HDFC Life, Hero MotoCorp, and M&M were among the top losers, down around 1 per cent.

"Better-than-estimated India GDP numbers will raise the growth outlook for FY24 and provide cheer for the market to continue its upward momentum. The capex by the government and the pickup in manufacturing activity led the capital goods and infra stocks to outperform," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The global market too rallied on hopes that the ECB has completed its rate-hiking cycle on the back of easing inflation and ahead of the Fed Chair speech today. Oil prices continued to move on the downside despite the OPEC+ supply cut, which will support the H2FY24 operating margins of the corporations. The auto sales numbers witnessed a festival cheer, while the premium valuation restricted the upside potential, Nair added.

November has been a terrific month for the benchmark indices. The Sensex has jumped over 5 per cent, while the Nifty has rallied nearly 6 per cent during the period.

Here's a list of factors that drove the indices higher today.

Q2 GDP print beats estimates: Investor sentiment got a major boost on better-than-expected GDP numbers for the September quarter (Q2 FY24). The economy grew 7.6 per cent during the quarter and remained the fastest-growing large economy.

Exit polls: Most exit polls on Thursday put the BJP ahead in Madhya Pradesh and gave it an edge in Rajasthan while predicting that it was an advantage to Congress in Telangana and Chhattisgarh. Read more

Global Market

European shares gained on Friday as investors cheered the growing prospects of rate cuts on cooler-than-expected inflation prints while keeping an eye out for more economic data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.5 per cent at 0810 GMT in a broad-based rally after logging its strongest monthly gain of 6.4 per cent in November since the start of the year.
It was also on course to log its third straight weekly gain, led by technology and financial services shares.

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