Record Highs for Nifty and Sensex; Strong Performance from PSU Banks and Metal Stocks

The benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex continued their upward trend, reaching new record highs in the early trading session on June 18, each rising by 0.25 percent. The metal stocks index, PSU banks index, and IT index were among the leading gainers. Meanwhile, the healthcare and pharma sector indices saw a decline. 

Around 9:20 am, the Sensex had increased by 195 points to reach 77,187, while the Nifty had risen by 69 points, or 0.29 percent, to stand at 23,534. Approximately 2,193 shares advanced, 734 shares declined, and 156 shares remained unchanged.

"We witnessed consolidation last week but the market is likely to remain higher on the as we're in a positive territory on the back of election results and hopes of policy continuity," Kranthi Bathini, director equity research at WealthMills Securities, said. "Going ahead, the market is going to wait for the government's budgetary action and that's going to be the great trigger for the markets," he added.

The midcap and smallcap indices began the day strongly, with increases of 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. Out of the 13 sectoral indices on the NSE, only three were trading in negative territory. 

Bathini mentioned that with the market exhibiting a positive trend, mid-cap and small-cap stocks are anticipated to outperform the major indices. This outperformance will primarily be driven by individual stock performance rather than specific sectors, and this trend is expected to persist throughout the week, he noted. 

"While some profit booking was seen last week, the market seems to be undergoing positive consolidation and as long as it stays above 23,200-76,300 (Nifty and Sensex), the bullish sentiment is likely to persist," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities.

On the Nifty index, the leading gainers were Wipro, Adani Enterprises, M&M, Titan Company, and Adani Ports. On the other hand, the laggards included Maruti Suzuki, Dr. Reddy's, Divis Laboratories, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and SBI Life Insurance.