India Stocks: Indian shares hit record highs; Bajaj Housing more than doubles on debut

Bajaj Housing Finance

16/09/2024 05:55

(Updates at 10:08 a.m. IST)
    By Bharath Rajeswaran
       BENGALURU, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose to
record highs on Monday, underpinned by metals amid a weaker
dollar, while Bajaj Housing Finance  BAJO.NS  listed at more
than double its issue price after a stellar initial public
offering (IPO) last week. 
    Benchmarks indexes NSE Nifty 50  .NSEI  and S&P BSE Sensex
 .BSESN  were up about 0.3% each at all-time highs, as of 10:08
a.m. IST.
    Twelve of 13 major sectors logged gains. Metals  .NIFTYMET 
gained 1% as a softer dollar made the greenback-priced commodity
more affordable for overseas buyers. 
    Expectations of an improved demand and China stimulus also
pushed base metal prices higher over the past few sessions.
 MET/L 
    Energy index  .NIFTYENR  rose nearly 1%, while consumer
index  .NIFTYFMCG , which have outperformed the benchmark Nifty
50 since the start of July, eased 0.4%. 
    The broader, more domestically focussed small-  .NIFSMCP100 
and mid-caps  .NIFMDCP100  rose about 0.4% each.
    Shares of Bajaj Housing Finance  BAJO.NS , the
second-biggest home loan financier in the country by assets
under management (AUM), debuted at more than double the offer
price of 70 rupees.
    Investors had bid for 64 times the shares on offer in the
company's IPO, the hottest so far in 2024.
    "The undertone of the market is bullish, on the back of
expectations of better festival demand due to good progress on
the monsoon front and the expected U.S. rate cut," said analysts
at Centrum Institutional Equities.
    Both benchmark indexes closed flat in the previous session,
but logged their best week since the end of June ahead of a
potential reduction in U.S. rates on Wednesday.
    The odds of a 50-basis-point Fed cut have risen to 59% from
30% a week earlier.
    An aggressive 50-bps rate cut could bring in additional
foreign inflows and boost domestic equities, two traders said.
    Among individual stocks, Indian rice companies such as KRBL
 KRBL.NS  and LT Foods  LTOL.NS  rose 5% each after the
government removed a floor price for basmatic rice exports.
    Realty company Macrotech Developers  MACE.NS  climbed 4%
after Nomura initiated coverage with "buy" rating, citing "solid
earnings visibility." 
   
    

 (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by
Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((bharath.rajeswaran@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9769003463;))