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