Welcome to the Record-Breaking Stock Market Rally!
MUMBAI: Stock market indices reached new all-time highs on Wednesday as the blue-chip rally persisted. Reliance Industries, after hitting a lifetime high during the day, closed 4% higher at Rs 3,027. The company’s market capitalisation once again exceeded the Rs 20 lakh crore-mark, reaching Rs 20.5 lakh crore.
While the Sensex increased by 621 points to close at 78,674, the broader Nifty climbed 148 points to 23,868. Besides Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel – which renewed 97MHz spectrum in Wednesday’s auction – also rallied 3%. Private banks, after leading the rally on Tuesday, gained as well.
Brokers said that as more money flowed into the stock market, investors were adjusting valuations across different segments. Traditional stocks had lower price-to-earnings ratios compared to some stocks where prices had risen faster than earnings.
Among sectoral indices, the telecom index was the top gainer and rose 2.3%. Telecom stocks GTL Infra, Vi, and Tata Teleservices were the top gainers, rising 4.9%, 4.8%, and 4.3% respectively.
BSE’s energy index was also up nearly 1.5%, driven by gains in Reliance. On the other hand, the metal index was the biggest loser due to a drop in the share prices of NMDC, Vedanta, Sail, Tata Steel, and Hindalco. Vedanta fell by 2.7% following its parent company’s announcement to sell a 2.6% stake to a group of institutional investors.
