After steady start, Indian stocks at record highs; Sensex crosses 81,000 for the first time

New Delhi [India], July 18 (ANI): Indian stock indices touched fresh highs on Thursday, with the Sensex crossing the 81,000 mark for the first time.
The indices opened largely steady but gathered steam as the day progressed. Sensex and Nifty were 0.7-0.8 per cent higher at the time of filing this report.
"The positive from the Indian stock market perspective is that expectations of a weakening dollar will increase foreign portfolio inflows, imparting resilience to the market," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, at Geojit Financial Services.
"The market will be influenced by this development and also by Budget expectations. Results of Infosys today will give greater clarity to the movement in IT stocks. Pharma and healthcare stocks are witnessing slow accumulation."
The markets were also buoyant, possibly due to the upward revision in growth projections by the IMF.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest outlook, this week raised India's growth projections for 2024 from 6.8 per cent earlier to 7 per cent, with the country maintaining the fastest-growing status in emerging markets and developing economies.
The markets were closed Wednesday on account of Muharram. Extending the gains accumulated over the past several weeks, Indian stock indices - Sensex and Nifty - closed higher the day prior.
The week gone by also saw Indian stock markets touch fresh all-time highs. The upmove in the market was triggered by the latest moderation in US inflation, better-than-expected results in the IT space, and a lack of negative market fundamentals.
Going ahead, the market participants will closely monitor the Budget, to be presented on July 23. Later today, Infosys' financial results will be released, which will again be widely tracked.
Sensex and Nifty have cumulatively accumulated 11-13 per cent returns so far in 2024-25. Strong buys by both foreign and domestic institutional buyers have also been supporting the stock markets. (ANI)