Sensex crosses 80,000 mark; Nifty up 350 points at midday amid global stock rally

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 16 (ANI): Indian stock markets surged firmly on Friday from the opening session, with both indices gaining more than 1 per cent following the rally in the Nifty IT and Nifty Realty.

The Nifty 50 index gained 295 points, or 1.22 per cent, to 24,445 points, while the Sensex surged 953 points, or 1.24 per cent, to 80,075 points at the time of filing this report.

The Nifty IT and Nifty Realty surged more than 2 per cent, and other major sectoral indices, including Nifty Auto and Nifty Media, also rose more than 1 per cent.

According to stock market experts, the rally in Indian stocks followed the global stock market rally. The top gainers of the day in the Nifty 50 include Wipro, which surged more than 3 per cent, as well as LTIM, which gained 2.99 per cent, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Apollo Hospitals, which also made it into the top gainers of the day.

Both benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex, gained at the opening. The Nifty 50 index surged 0.79 per cent, or 191 points, to open at 24,334.85, while the BSE Sensex gained 646 points, or 0.82 per cent, to open at 79,751.90 points.

Markets globally have turned around smartly from the August 5 sell-off, which was triggered by US recession fears and the unwinding of Yen carry trades.

According to the latest data on US inflation and unemployment, there is no indication of an economy tipping into recession.

“Strong global cues are supportive for the Indian markets. Of the three global risks at the start of the week, all three have watered down considerably. Diplomacy has avoided an Iran attack on Israel. US CPI and PPI numbers show a deflationary trend and lower unemployment benefit claims numbers lifted the chances of a soft landing in the US economy” said Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert.

According to Bagga, “For India, the one issue is continued FPI selling which has taken out nearly USD 2.8 billion from the cash equities segment this month so far. Sideways markets have marked time in a consolidation phase and may be setting up for another attempt at all-time highs over the next week”.