Indian shares close at record high

Indian shares rose 1% to close at a record high on Friday, driven by consumer and IT stocks as the country’s retail inflation eased and the government assured of more support to alleviate economic strain caused by the pandemic.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended 1% higher at 16,529.10 and 55,437.29, respectively. Both the indexes rose for a second straight week, gaining more than 1%.

India’s July retail inflation eased to 5.59% from June’s 6.26%, below a Reuters poll forecast of 5.78%. Aiding sentiment, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told industrialists on Thursday the economy had not reached a level where the central bank could begin pulling back liquidity.

“Macro data points are becoming a little bit supportive for the markets. While the Delta variant continues to be a concern in other countries, the number of cases in India have not gone up significantly,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research, broking & distribution at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“There is a lot of movement of money from small- and mid-cap stocks to large-cap stocks, which is driving Nifty to new highs.” Analysts also noted that regulatory crackdowns in China have led to foreign investors redirecting money into equities in India and other emerging markets.

Foreign investors have bought $243.28 million in Indian equities so far this month, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Fast-moving consumer goods and IT services led gains among the Nifty’s sectoral indexes, rising 0.9% and 1.4%, respectively.

Shares of Royal Enfield owner Eicher Motors fell 2.7%, after it warned of a hit to production due to a global chip shortage and a sudden exit of Enfield’s chief executive officer.

Shares of real estate company Puravankara jumped 10%, while Technocraft Industries (India) surged 12.4% on strong June-quarter results.

Reuters