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Benchmarks Return To Winning Ways With New Record Highs

The Nifty has given positive returns in each of the first four months of the year.



Staff from the Motilal Oswal group celebrates on the trading room floor (Photographer: Santosh Verma/Bloomberg News)
Staff from the Motilal Oswal group celebrates on the trading room floor (Photographer: Santosh Verma/Bloomberg News)

Benchmark indices returned to their winning ways, posting their best weekly gains in five. The Nifty has given positive returns in each of the first four months of the year, for the first time in more than a decade.

The S&P BSE Sensex index fell 0.37 percent to 29,918.40. The index has gained 1.88 percent this week, posting its best weekly performance in five. The index also closed above the 30,000 mark for the first time ever on Wednesday.

The NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.41 percent to 9,304.05 for the day but gained 2.02 percent for the week and touched an intraday high of 9,367.

Gains were led by the S&P BSE Auto Index which rose nearly percent during the week. Steady performance from Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. – which gained 5.19 percent this week – added to the performance of the index.

The Bank Nifty was the second best performing index, gaining 3.74 percent during the week. It scaled above its record high of 22,000 and managed to sustain that level through the week.

Cement majors like ACC Ltd. and Ultratech Cement Ltd. were some of the top performers during the week. Both cement majors delivered results for the January-March quarter that surpassed estimates. Volume growth for both companies surprised on the upside.

Rupee Gains Strength

The rupee posted another week of gains after snapping an eight-week run last Friday. The currency ended at 64.24, appreciating 0.57 percent for the week. Standard Chartered said the currency is expected to trade at 65 versus the dollar mark by the end of June.