By Indranil Sarkar and Manvi Pant
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares hit record highs on Thursday, helped by gains in IT and auto companies, while investors shift their focus back to the U.S. after optimism over China’s stimulus package started to wane.
The benchmark Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex touched all-time highs of 26,034.55 points and 85,248.40, respectively. They were up 0.2% as of 10:01 IST.
The Nifty closed above the 26,000 mark for the first time in the prior session as its rally through most of 2024 culminated in record highs in the last five sessions.
“In the next few sessions, no reason is visible for a fall in shares except profit-booking. In near term, momentum is expected to continue on the upside,” Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said.
A five-day rally, in which the Nifty gained over 2.5%, came after the Federal Reserve’s big rate cut last Wednesday boosted hopes of higher foreign inflows into emerging markets, such as India.
Heavyweight IT stocks, which rely heavily on U.S. clients for revenue, were up 0.5% after struggling for direction since the Fed decision.
Later in the day, comments from Fed Chair Powell and other key officials will be scrutinized for cues on the central bank’s next move.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors rose 1.4% and was among the top gainers on the auto index after its Jaguar Land Rover division announced plans to invest about $666 million to upgrade its EV factory.
Sentiment in domestic auto firms was also upbeat due to Karnataka state’s plans to waive tax for hybrid cars and offer incentives for EVs.
Maruti Suzuki, which sells hybrid vehicles, rose 3%, its biggest daily percentage rise in nearly three months.
Commodity-linked sectors, such as energy and metals, were 0.4% and 0.1% lower, respectively, after gaining in the past two sessions following China’s stimulus measures, which analysts said would help lower dumping steel in countries including India.
($1 = 0.7501 pounds)
(Reporting by Manvi Pant and Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Savio D’Souza)
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