Sensex, Nifty at all-time high as inflation cools this week

Indian stock markets closed at an all-time high in the last week. This is the second consecutive week when Indian frontline indices Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 77,145 and 23,490 respectively.

In the last week that ended on June 14, Sensex closed at 76,992, up 299 points or 0.39 per cent, and Nifty settled at 23,465, up 175 or 0.75 per cent.

Data released by the government on Wednesday showed that the retail inflation rate has fallen to 4.75 per cent in May, which was 4.83 per cent in April.

During the week, Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have invested Rs 2,030 crore and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have invested Rs 6,293 crore.

Smallcap and midcap shares have attracted more investors than largecap during this period. BSE Smallcap Index rallied 5 per cent and BSE Midcap Index surged 4.4 per cent during the week.

In smallcap, EIH Associated Hotels, Reliance Power, PTC Industries, Avantel, HCC, GTL Infrastructure, Wardwizard Innovation and Mobility, Honda India Power Products, Home First Finance Company India, Paras Defense and Space Technology, and Asian Granito India gained more than 25 per cent.

In midcap, Endurance Technologies, LIC Housing Finance, Scheffler India, Oil India, Max Healthcare Institute, Samvardhan Motherson International, Honeywell Automation, Oracle Financial Services Software, and New India Assurance were top gainers.

Among the sector indices, the Capital Goods Index surged 6.4 per cent, the Realty Index rallied 5.4 per cent, the Telecom Index shot up by 4 per cent and the Oil and Gas Index gained 3.5 per cent.

Arvinder Singh Nanda, Senior Vice President, of Master Capital Services Ltd said, "Several factors contributed to the market's upward momentum. Firstly, there was political stability following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath-taking ceremony. Secondly, the continuity of economic reforms was expected due to minimal changes in the ministerial portfolios under Modi 3.0."

"Lastly, the significant decrease in India VIX, the volatility index, by nearly 60 per cent from its recent high of 31.71 on June 4 contributed to a more stable market environment after the election-related uncertainties were resolved," he added.