Indian shares hit record highs; Sensex scales 32,000

Mood was upbeat amidst hopes of an interest rate cut by the central bank after a fall in inflation.

india trader
Traders work at a brokerage in Mumbai, India. Reuters

Indian shares joined the global rally on Thursday, with the benchmark Sensex index closing above 32,000 level for the first time, led by lenders such as ICICI Bank.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.73 percent to 32,037 while the broader NSE Nifty gained 0.77 percent to 9,891.

Asian shares rallied after Fed chair Janet Yellen signaled gradual monetary tightening.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 1.2 percent to its highest since May 2015.

Sentiment, back home, was upbeat amidst hopes of an interest rate cut by the central bank after retail inflation hit a historically low level of 1.54 percent in June.

Investors will now watch out for corporate earnings with software exporter Tata Consultancy Services scheduled later today and Infosys due on Friday.

Top gainers on the Sensex were ITC, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Bharti Airtel, rising between 1 percent to 3 percent.

Sintex Industries climbed 16 percent after Morgan Stanley France bought 3.57 million shares via block deal.

Market breadth was in the favour of gainers, with about 2 stocks advancing to every 1 stock that declined.

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