Indian shares settle at new highs

India’s main benchmark indexes closed at record highs for a second day on Friday, as risk-on sentiment remained in broader equities after a less-hawkish tone from the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.03% to 62,293.64. The NSE Nifty 50 index settled 0.15% higher at 18,512.75, the first time ever the 50-stock gauge has closed above 18,500. Both indexes extended their winning streak for the fourth day, logging weekly gains of over 1%.

However, the rise was marginal on Friday, as Sensex and Nifty trimmed intraday gains of nearly 0.3%, reported Reuters.

Investors stayed on the sidelines for the most part due to a lack of cues from the US markets, shut on Thursday, said Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities.

“The markets may react sharply on Monday,” he added.

The broader indices outperformed their larger peers, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 adding 0.95% and 1.12%, respectively.

The Nifty’s auto) and oil & gas indexes were among top sectoral gainers, rising over 0.8% each. The Nifty IT index recovered from a muted start to end the session with gains, following a slide in the US dollar index to a three-month low on Thursday.

IT sector could be a direct beneficiary in the near term while global cyclicals and manufacturing companies could join the rally later, said Narendra Solanki, Head - Equity Research (Fundamental) at Anand Rathi Investment Services. Solanki expected the Nifty 50 to rise as much as 19,500 by October next year.