Mumbai: The equity markets soared higher on Thursday ahead of the release of India’s fourth quarter GDP data on anticipation that the growth numbers would be on the higher end of the forecasted range. This according to experts forced traders to cover their bearish bets following the expiry of May derivative contracts.
The Nifty soared 121.80 points or 1.15 per cent to end the day at 10,736.15 while the Sensex closed the session at 35,322.38, up 416.27 points or 1.19 per cent. The data released post market hours showed that India’s economy grew 7.7 per during the quarter ended March 2018.
A rally in global stocks due to easing of political tension in Europe along with further progress in US-North Korea talks also helped the domestic equities to maintain their winning momentum. “The political turmoil in Italy showed signs of easing with the two anti-establishment parties renewing efforts to form a coalition government rather than force Italy into elections for a second time this year,” said Abhijeet Dey, senior fund manager, equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
Private sector lenders stole the limelight on domestic markets with HDFC Bank surging 4.36 per cent while IndusInd Bank and Kotak Bank gaining 3.14 per cent and 2.68 per cent respectively.
