MUMBAI: Markets closed at record highs Monday, rallying for the second consecutive session led by rise in banking stocks, including Indian Bank and SBI, whose shares surged over 6 per cent on BSE.
The S&P BSE Sensex settled at a record high of 37,692, up 136 points, while the broader Nifty 50 index settled at a new high of 11,387, up 26 points. Sensex clocked an all-time high of 37,805.25 during intraday trade, while the Nifty 50 index touched yet another record high of 11,427.65, led by the Nifty PSU Bank index, which settled over 2.5 per cent higher.
However, Rupee weakened to 68.89 due to strengthening of the Dollar against other currencies overseas. The greenback edged towards a one-year high amid trade war tensions. The Rupee opened strong by 3 paise at 68.57 and hovered around 68.88 and 68.53 before closing at 68.88, down 28 paise.
Among commodities, gold prices inched higher recovering from a 17-month low. Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $1,215.71 an ounce, but US gold futures remained muted at $1,223.7 an ounce.
“Both the benchmark Sensex and the Nifty scaled a record high in morning trade, only to subsequently trim some of the gains and finally close positive by 0.25 per cent. Overseas, investors continued to monitor the US-Sino trade spat, breathing in a note of caution in the investor community. While the healthcare, FMCG and IT indices closed the day in the red, the banking, metals and auto indices witnessed sharp gains,” said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager-Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
Analysts are placing their bets on monsoon, which will determine the direction of the markets for rest of the week. Though the IMD forecasts normal rainfall in August and September, boosting growth prospects of the rural economy, Skymet had a differing view, which is why traders and policymakers are on a wait-and-watch mode.
Meanwhile, Asian shares pared gains as Chinese stocks dived deep into the red with blue-chip share index CSI 300 and Shanghai’s SSE Composite down over 1 per cent each, as trade war fears intensified. However, Beijing’s intervention prevented sharp declines in the Yuan. Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi index too slipped 0.1 per cent.