Nifty Hits Record High, Sensex Zooms 300 pts; Delta Corp Jumps 8%

A solid 7.6 per cent GDP growth rate for the September quarter (Q2FY24), higher-than-expectations, lifted equities in early hours on Friday. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 278 points, or 0.42 per cent, to quote at 67,267 levels.

The Nifty50, meanwhile, hit record high of 20,225, up 86 points or 0.39 per cent, aided by NTPC, Apollo Hospitals, Ultratech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, L&T, Grasim, and LTIMindtree.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index hit a new record high of 34,481.7, ruling 0.64 per cent higher. The BSE SmallCap index, too, was up 0.8 per cent.

Among sectors, all the indices were trading with firm gains led by the Nifty Realty up 1.7 per cent, followed by the Nifty Metal, and Media indices (up 0.8 per cent each).

Global Cues

Asian sharemarkets started the last month of the year on a cautious note after recent strong gains, though growing expectations Europe and the US are poised to cut rates should help ease pressure on local currencies and central banks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at its highest level since January 2022 as investors crossed the finish line of a banner month for stocks and viewed cooling inflation data as a harbinger of easing Federal Reserve monetary policy.

Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Friday, extended losses after OPEC+ producers agreed to voluntary oil output cuts for the first quarter next year that fell short of market expectations.