Nifty crosses 25,000 for first time, markets robust on first day of the month

Indian equity indices opened at a lifetime high on Thursday following positive global cues. In the early trading hours, Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 82,129 and 25,078 respectively.

At 9.41 a.m., Sensex was up 299 points or 0.37 per cent at 82,040 and Nifty was up 101 points or 0.41 per cent at 25,051. Buying is also seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks.

The Nifty midcap 100 index is up 213 points or 0.36 per cent at 59,222 and the Nifty smallcap 100 index was at 19,227, up 90 points or 0.47 per cent.

There is a positive trend in the stock market also. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,503 shares are in the green and 570 shares are in the red.

In the Sensex pack, Maruti Suzuki, JSW Steel, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Axis Bank, NTPC, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank are the top gainers. M&M, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finserv are the top losers.

On the global front, the markets of Seoul, Bangkok and Jakarta are trading briskly. At the same time, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong are in red. The US markets closed positive on Wednesday.

 Market experts said, "The Fed chief signalling a possible rate cut in September is positive for global equity markets. More importantly, his comments that the US economy is normalising is a shot in the arm for bulls."

"A serious geopolitical risk is the escalation of tensions in West Asia following the killing of the top Hamas leader in Iran. The risk of a regional aggravation of the Gaza war is high," they added. 

(With inputs from IANS)