India shares hit record high as rally gathers steam
Mumbai is currently the seventh largest by market capitalisation.
MUMBAI (AFP) - Indian shares rallied to a record high Friday as investors rode a global rally fuelled by optimism about the economic recovery outlook.
The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex index crossed the 60,000 mark for the first time to touch 60,333 in the first five minutes, while the blue-chip Nifty50 index also hit a new peak of 17,947.
India’s markets have enjoyed whirlwind growth despite the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, more than doubling in value since an April 2020 low.
“Expectations of solid economic recovery and sustained growth in the next couple of years is keeping the bulls enthused,” Sandeep Bharadwaj of IIFL Securities said.
Heavyweight IT stocks including Infosys, TCS and HCL Technologies led Friday’s rally, surging up to three percent after overseas rival Accenture forecast strong revenue growth for the year.
Real estate, banking and financial services companies also gained, with the Nifty Realty Index hitting an 11-year-high.
India’s stock market could grow to more than $5 trillion to become the fifth-largest in the world by 2024 as more technology start-ups go public, Goldman Sachs said in a research note this week.
“We estimate nearly $400 billion of market cap could be added from new IPOs over the next two to three years,” the Wall Street giant said.
Mumbai is currently the seventh largest by market capitalisation.
