Equity indices end at record highs; Sensex settles 1,360 pts higher, Nifty near 25,800

Indian equities in Friday's trade (September 20) after stellar rally amid assumptions of huge foreign fund inflows ended quiet strong after record highs hit earlier in the day. At the close, Nifty ended near 25,800 levels at 25790.95, up 1.48 per cent or 375.15 while Sensex ended a strong 1359.5 points  or 1.63 per cent higher at 84,544.31

Meanwhile, the high-beta index Bank Nifty also marked a new high after 78 sessions amid run-up in private banking majors including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank among others.

Furthermore, broader markets that took a beating in the previous day's trade were up today, with both Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices up over 1 per cent each.

Palka Arora Chopra. Director, Master Capital Services on markets record high said, "The current upswing in the stock market results from market forecasts of increased foreign inflows into India following the Fed rate decrease, combined with the fact that US Jobless Claims are at their lowest point since May 2024 alleviating concerns about the US market's slowdown."

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Averages and S&P 500 index surged to 1.7%. Asia saw a rise in markets in Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. Domestic stocks followed the global rally's path.

The US labor market is not failing; rather, it is simply slowing down, according to the good labour market data released recently. Since inflation is under control, a scenario with declining interest rates calls for a soft landing for the US. This is good news for the world's equity markets, added Chopra.
Even as India Inc's fundamentals hold good, the latest rate cut cycle will boost liquidity in the global markets and result in foreign funds into emerging economies including India.

Sectorally, even as there is seen broad-based buying action,  realty, metal, banking and auto packs emerged as the top sectoral gainers, with gains up to 4 per cent in the realty index.

Meanwhile, European indices traded lower following gains in the previous day's session. Germany's DAX led the losses down over 0.8 per cent at the last count.