Nifty crosses 25,000 for first time, Sensex hit record high

Benchmark BSE Sensex jumped 388 points to breach the 82,000-level for the first time while broader Nifty spurted 108 points to hit the record 25,000-mark in early trade on Aug 1 after the US Federal Reserve indicated a rate cut by September.

The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 388.15 points, or 0.47%, to hit an all-time intra-day high of 82,129.49 in early trade.

The broader Nifty of NSE scaled the record 25,000 level for the first time, rising 127.15 points, or 0.50%, to 25,078.30.

Among Sensex shares, Maruti rose 2.93% following its stellar June quarter results.

Adani Ports, Power Grid, JSW Steel, and Tata Steel were also among major gainers.

Gains in index heavyweights HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and ICICI Bank shot the index to record high levels.

On the other hand, M&M, Sun Pharma, ITC, Infosys and TCS were among the losers, capping index gains.

"The Fed chief signaling a possible rate cut in September is positive for global equity markets. More important, his comments that the US economy is normalizing is a shot in the arm for bulls," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Indicating a rate cut by September, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that progress has been made in reducing inflation to the 2% target which is a sign that the Fed is moving closer toward reducing the key interest rate for the first time in four years.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory while Seoul was in the green on Thursday.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital markets on July 31 and offloaded shares worth ₹3,462.36 crore, according to exchange data.

(PTI)