FINAL TRADE: Sensex skyrockets 930 pts to 70,514, Nifty closes above 21,000 for first time as bulls take D-Street to fresh peaks

Stock market today: Financial stocks and Information technology (IT) stocks helped domestic benchmark indexes finish at record closing highs on Thursday. Bulls took the D-Street to fresh peaks on Thursday as global rally spilled over to regional markets after the US Federal Reserve flagged the end of its tightening cycle and bolstered expectations of a rate cut in March 2024.
The NSE Nifty 50 index ended 256.35 points or 1.23 per cent higher at 21,182.7 and the S&P BSE Sensex finished the day with a gain of 929.6 points or 1.34 per cent at 70,514.2--both record closing highs--after scaling record highs during the session. The high-beta Nifty Bank finished the day 640.05 points or 1.36 per cent higher at 47,732.3.

In addition, IT index, Nifty IT closed 3.5 per cent higher at 34,223.35 aided by gains in all ten IT stocks. Infosys, TechM, LTIMindtree, Wipro and HCL Tech were the top gainers in the Nifty basket, adding between 4-3.5 per cent. On the other hand, Power Grid, HDFC Life, Nestle India and Cipla were among the top losers.

Amid broad based indices, Nifty SmallCap 100 and Nifty MidCap 100 ended in green with gains of 0.85 and 1.31, respectively. 

"The market continued its exuberance and hit a fresh high amid the dovish commentary from the Federal Reserve, signalling at least three rate cuts in 2024. Further, the sharp fall in US bond yields improved investors’ confidence," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said.

An upgrade in India’s GDP forecast, ease in global oil prices, and the RBI decision to clamp down inflation to the target level, led to a broad-based rally with outperformance from Realty and IT," he added.

Global Market

Real estate and miners led a rally in European shares on Thursday as risk appetite received a strong boost from the U.S. Federal Reserve's indication of lower borrowing costs in 2024, with the focus shifting to the European Central Bank's (ECB)policy decision next. The pan-European index advanced 1.2 per cent by 0920 GMT, touching a near two-year high, and the euro zone's top blue-chip index gained 0.7 per cent, reaching an over 22-year high.

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