Indian stock indices remain bullish; Sensex tops 67,000 mark

New Delhi: The rally continued in Indian stock on Wednesday with the indices reaching fresh highs as the benchmark Sensex topped 67,000 mark.

Sensex and Nifty settled 0.4-0.5 per cent higher on Wednesday. All the Nifty sectoral indices were in the green, with Nifty bank, Nifty financial services, Nifty media, Nifty PSU bank, Nifty consumer durables, and Nifty oil and gas rising the most. Several analysts have pointed out that any further rally from the current levels is unlikely as valuations are higher. In the past one-month, the indices – Sensex and Nifty -- cumulatively gained about 6 percentage points.

The consistent inflow of foreign portfolio funds, firm economic outlook, firm global markets, and a relative moderation in inflation contributed to the latest bull run in Indian stocks.
“Despite the current high levels, domestic investors have hardly lost confidence in the Indian economy. It is experiencing a broad-based rally strengthened by encouraging domestic macroeconomic data and sustained inflows from FIIs (foreign institutional investors),” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have remained net buyers in Indian stock markets for the fifth straight month, according to data from the National Securities Depository (NSDL).
FPIs bought Indian stocks worth Rs 7,936 crore, Rs 11,631 crore, Rs 43,838 crore, and Rs 47,148 crore in March, April, May, and June, respectively. In July too, the trend is firm as they have so far bought Rs 34,444 crore worth of equities.

“We expect this momentum (in Indian stocks) to continue in the near term given buoyant domestic cues and receding global concerns,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.