MUMBAI: The sensex crossed the 84,000 mark for the first time on Friday as foreign institutional buying, following a global rally triggered by the US Fed’s aggressive rate cut, drove key indices to record-highs. The momentum – combined with India’s increased weightage in global indices as well as volatility from F&O expiry – boosted trading activity.
The sensex touched an intraday high of 84,694, before ending at a record 84,544 – up 1.6% from Thursday’s close.Nifty mirrored this trend, rising 1.5% to end at a record 25,791, with an intraday peak of 25,849. The market has scaled new highs with regularity as investors, including retail, have flocked to stocks chasing high returns.
Foreign institutional investors made net purchases of Rs 14,064 crore, while domestic institutions sold stocks worth Rs 4,427 crore. The influx of foreign capital also supported the rupee, which closed at 83.56 against the dollar, up from 83.66. Earlier in the session, the rupee had reached a two-month high of 83.49, recording a nearly 0.4% weekly gain to mark its strongest rise so far this year. Lower interest rates in the US have made emerging markets like India more attractive to foreign investors, leading to increased portfolio inflows. After a moderation in Aug, foreign investments have surged in Sept, with inflows on track to reach a six-month high.

All major sectoral indices ended the day in the green, with auto, energy, banking, FMCG, and metals leading the way – each gaining between 1-3%. Broader markets participated in the rally as well, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index closing 1.4% higher and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining nearly 1%. Among stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, ICICI Bank, L&T, Bharti Airtel, and Nestle saw significant upward movement.
Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services said, “The Indian market has joined the rally following the 50 basis points Fed rate cut and super accommodative monetary policy. This is expected to bring positivity to the economy and foreign inflows in the short-to-medium term as the global economy remains robust.” He noted that interest rate-sensitive sectors like auto and finance were experiencing notable traction.
In Asia, the S&P Asia Index rose 2.4% on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1.5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gaining 1.4%. Domestic institutional and retail investors have remained bullish, with domestic institutional investors purchasing shares worth Rs 3.2 lakh crore since the beginning of 2024. Mutual funds have continued to be net buyers, bolstered by record-high contributions through SIPs, which have touched records for 14 consecutive months, reflecting retail invetors’ confidence.