Nifty 50 hits all-time high; energy, IT stocks jump

BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s Nifty 50 hit a record high on Thursday, boosted by energy and information technology stocks, with investors eyeing the central bank’s policy meeting outcome later this week where it is expected to keep rates at record lows.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.54% to 15,656.20 by 0404 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.55% to 52,134.62.

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy committee (MPC) will likely keep the key lending rate or the repo rate unchanged at 4% for a sixth straight meeting, holding at record lows.

Conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd and software services giant Infosys Ltd were among the top boosts to the Nifty 50, gaining 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively. Shares of Reliance have risen for six straight sessions.

Meanwhile, the country continued to see a decline in daily COVID-19 cases, with data from the health ministry showing 134,154 fresh infections in the last 24 hours. Its total tally now stands at 28.4 million.

In the broader Asian markets, shares were a touch below a recent three-month high, with China a tad weaker as investors weighed inflation concerns ahead of key U.S. economic data.

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