Nifty50 hits record high, BSE Sensex surges on GDP growth data, exit polls – Times of India

Nifty50, the benchmark index of India’s National Stock Exchange, reached a fresh record high on Friday, reaching 20,258.45 in early trade. The surge in the index can be attributed to the faster-than-expected India GDP growth in the September quarter. The Indian economy expanded by 7.6%, surpassing the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 6.5%. This growth was mainly driven by the manufacturing sector.
The positive economic growth has also boosted optimism regarding the global interest rate outlook, according to an ET report. Additionally, the results of the exit polls indicate a high possibility of political stability, further contributing to the positive sentiment in the market.
The BSE Sensex, another key index, rallied over 400 points or 0.67% to reach 67,420. Nifty50 rose by 0.6% or over 120 points in the morning session, surpassing the 20,250 mark.
In terms of individual stocks, all Sensex stocks, except for Wipro, Titan, HCL Tech, and Infosys, opened in the green. On the sectoral front, Nifty Realty surged over 2%, while Nifty PSU Bank rose 0.75%. Other sectors such as Nifty Auto, Financial, FMCG, Media, Metal, and Pharma also saw an increase in early trade.
In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 gained 0.66%, while Smallcap100 surged 0.7%. One notable small-cap firm, ITD Cementation, saw a rise of 13% after securing a contract for a hydel power project in Andhra Pradesh.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, believes that the positive data and news will sustain the market momentum. He highlighted the GDP growth rate of 7.6% in the September quarter and the exit poll results indicating political stability as key factors driving the market.

On the global front, Asian markets saw mixed performance, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling 0.5%. Major Wall Street indexes also experienced a mixed performance, with the Dow surging almost 1.5% and the Nasdaq slipping after fresh inflation data was published.
In terms of foreign investment, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth Rs 8,147.8 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 780.3 crore. FPIs also ended a two-month selling streak in November, adding stocks worth Rs 9,001 crore.
Oil prices continued to decline, heading for a sixth straight week of losses. The voluntary oil output cuts agreed by OPEC+ producers fell short of market expectations, causing Brent crude futures for February to fall by 39 cents to $80.47 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also fell by 23 cents to $75.73.
Lastly, the Indian rupee rose 9 paise against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against major world currencies, declined to 103.4 level.