Nifty closes above 24,800 for first time ever, Sensex soars 627 pts to record 81,343 led by IT, financial stocks

Share Market News July 18: Domestic equity benchmarks registered unprecedented levels on Thursday, with the 50-scrip Nifty50 index both crossing and settling above the psychologically important 24,800 mark for the first time ever led by sharp buying interest in IT, financial and FMCG shares. Both headline indices were up 0.8 per cent at the end of a volatile session, with the Sensex rising 626.9 points to 81,343.5 and the Nifty50 gaining 187.9 points to settle at 24,800.9 - their highest closing levels. 

LTIMindtree (LTIM), ONGC, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Bajaj Finserv (BAJAJFINSV), Infosys (INFY), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), SBI Life (SBILIFE), Shriram Finance (SHRIRAMFIN) and Tech Mahindra (TECHM) - closing between 1.6 per cent and 3.5 per cent higher - rose the most among the 35 gainers in the Nifty50 basket. 

On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp (HEROMOTOCO), Coal India (COALINDIA), Asian Paints (ASIANPAINT), Grasim, Bajaj Auto, JSW Steel and NTPC - closing between 0.6 per cent and 1.5 per cent lower - were the top losers in the 50-scrip basket.

TCS, Infosys and ICICI Bank were the biggest contributors to the gains in both main indices.

Investors awaited more of earnings announcements in the ongoing results season as well as the Narendra Modi 3.0 government's first Union Budget due next week for domestic cues.  

The Nifty IT - whose 10 constituents include TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and HCLTech - finished 2.2 per cent higher, the most among NSE's sectoral gauges.

Gains in stocks such as ICICI Bank and SBI led a 0.4 per cent rise in the Nifty Bank index, while the Nifty Financial Services index rose 0.6 per cent for the day. Financial services shares enjoy the maximum weight of 34 per cent in the Nifty50. 

Broader indices took a beating, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 gauges falling around one per cent each, as investors appeared to book profits at higher levels in midcap and smallcap shares. 

Overall market breath was negative at the end of the session with an advance-decline ratio of 3:5 as 1,424 stocks rose while 2,500 declined on BSE. 

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