Indian markets close at all-time high after country improves its rank in ease of doing business
Reports that eight core sectors grew to a six-month high of 5.2% may have also boosted trade on the indices.
India’s benchmark indices closed at another record high on Wednesday. The BSE Sensex rose 387.14 points to end at 33,600.27, while the NSE Nifty closed 105.2 points higher at 10,440.50.
Investors reacted positively to the news of India’s ranking in the ease of doing business jumping 30 places to 100. Reports that eight core sectors grew to a six-month high of 5.2% also boosted trade on the stock market.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel, the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Axis Bank. The top losers on the index were Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto and Tata Consultancy Services.
The five stocks that rose the most on the Nifty were Bharti Airtel, SBI, ICICI Bank, Vedanta and Hindalco. The worst performers were Eicher Motors, Bharti Infratel, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, UPL Limited and HCL Technologies.
All other major Asian markets also closed higher on Wednesday. The Hong Kong Hang Seng surged by 348 points and Japan’s Nikkei by over 408 points. The Taiwan TSEC 50 Index and the Shanghai SE Composite Index made small gains.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee was trading 15 paise higher at 64.59 against the United States dollar at 4.17 pm.
