Stock market today: Nifty 50 scales above 25,000 for the first time, Sensex crosses 82,000 as bulls cheer US Fed policy

Indian stock market indices opened at record high on Thursday with the benchmark Nifty 50 crossing above 25,000 level and the Sensex breaching 82,000 for the first time.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened 208 points, or 0.25%, higher at 81,949.68 and extended gains to hit a record high of 82,129.49. Nifty 50 opened at 80 points, or 0.32%, higher at 25,030.95 level on Thursday. The index hit a life-time high of 25,078.30 in early deals.

It took 24 sessions for Nifty 50 to gain 1,000 points. Bank Nifty index also gained over 119 points to open at 51,672.60.

Broader markets supported the upmove as the Nifty Smallcap 100 and the Nifty Midcap 100 indices gained over 0.2% each.

Gains were seen in Nifty Metals, Nifty IT, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty PSU Bank indices, while Nifty Realty and Nifty Media suffered losses.

Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Maruti Suzuki, Hindalco, Coal India, JSW Steel and PowerGrid Corporation were the top gainers, while Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), BPCL, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Eicher Motors were the top losers.

Indian stock market rallied following upbeat trend in global markets after the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell hinted an interest rate cut in September.

The US central bank's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left the benchmark interest rates unchanged at 5.25% - 5.50% on Wednesday for the eighth straight meeting and noted further progress towards its 2% inflation target.

Powell signalled that the Fed could cut interest rates as soon as September, saying if US inflation continues to fall, “a reduction in our policy rate could be on the table" when the Fed next meets in September."

Dovish comments from the Fed Chair fueled a rally on Wall Street overnight with the three benchmark indices, including Nasdaq and S&P 500, witnessing decent gains.

“Largely dovish tone from the Fed, seems like they almost cut without cutting! Jerome Powell has set the bar on a September (next FOMC) cut quite low. Good for risk-on trades - equities in general. US tech rallied last night, and investor sentiment is likely to remain buoyed in India too,” said Somnath Mukherjee, CIO & Senior Managing Partner, ASK Private Wealth.

He sees good portends for equities till the end of this year.

“While pockets of over-valuation remain, a supportive “beta” backdrop is giving opportunities to investors to systematically rotate out of heated themes/sectors (defence, railways, some of the smaller companies) into those with greater margins of safety (financials especially),” Mukherjee said.

Nifty has rallied around 11% in the last three months.

“This rally is driven by healthy GDP growth, control inflation, strong domestic liquidity both from Retail as well as Institutional participants, and a progressive monsoon. Global cues have been supportive after the US Fed indicated a possible rate cut in September. We expect this positive momentum to continue going forward driven by healthy macros, India’s strong position globally, and steady corporate earnings,” said Ajay Menon, MD & CEO, Broking & Distribution, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The Nifty crossing the 25,000 mark is a significant milestone that reflects robust economic growth, political stability, and strong corporate earnings, said Anirudh Garg, Partner and Fund Manager at Invasset adding that the surge boosts investor confidence and indicates the market's positive outlook.

“In the short term, we are bullish on the market and see potential for the Nifty to rise further to 26,000, driven by continued domestic consumption, infrastructure spending, and strong participation from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) alongside Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs). Retail investors have also been pouring money into the market through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs),” Garg said.

However, over the longer term, he expects a minor correction to stabilize the broader index, providing a healthier market environment.

Technical View

Nifty can find support at 24,950 followed by 24,900 and 24,850. On the higher side, 25,100 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,200 and 25,250, said Deven Mehata, Research Analyst at Choice Broking.

According to him, the charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 51,500, followed by 51,300 and 51,200. He believes iIf the index advances further, 51,800 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 52,000 and 52,100.

“Indian markets are also ready to give a strong breakout above the resistance level of 25,000. Traders holding long positions can hold and trail stop loss at 24,850 on a closing basis. Also fresh long positions can be made on dips near 24,900 with a mentioned stop loss,” Mehata said.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.