38K is the new reality

The benchmark index BSE Sensex is trading above the 38,000 level as private banks join the upward rally fueled by good quarterly earnings and positive vibes emanating from the Indian economy. We at DSIJ had predicted this level way back in April.

Our in-house experts had expected the BSE Sensex to trade at these levels ahead of the market. DSIJ's Issue no 10, Volume 33, dated April 16-29 2018, predicted this even when the whole market was bearish. Even in our most recent issue, which hit the stand on August 6, our Editorial speaks in length about a revival in the Indian equity market. 

After a good set of earning numbers, the market seems to be taking note of the IMF numbers which remained optimistic about India's economic growth and forecasted GDP growth at 7.3 per cent for this fiscal year and 7.5 per cent for FY2019-20. Given the rupee depreciation, the country's exports are expected to benefit and witness record growth, predicted IMF. Market participants are also attributing this market rally to huge buying by Mutual fund houses.

The toppers that pushed the benchmark index to new highs were ICICI Bank, AxisBank, PSU banks including SBI, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank, alongwith pharma majors Lupin, Cipla, Nalco and OMCs Reliance, BPCL and HPCL.

Sector-wise, the banking sector was the most elated with Nifty PSU banks up by 3.11 per cent, followed by Nifty Realty which was up 1.89 per cent. The popular index Nifty Bank was up by 0.76 per cent.

Among board indices, Nifty Smallcap 100 was the most positive with 0.70 per cent gains, Nifty Midcap was also posting close to half a per cent gain. Meanwhile, BSE MidCap was up 0.45 per cent and BSE SmallCap was up by 0.29 per cent on Thursday.