Valuations Rise As Nifty Hits New High, But Earnings Higher Too

The stock market's engines may have more steam left despite Nifty's new peak fuelling valuation jitters, analysts said.

- Ram Sahgal

This is because even as valuations exceed the historic average, earnings of Nifty companies have raced ahead as well.

On Monday, bulls kept up the momentum amid thin volumes to drive the Nifty to a new high, led by ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, ITC, and Bajaj Finance.

The index touched a record 22,186.65 points during the day, before closing 0.37% up at 22,122.25. Despite the benchmark making new life highs in a matter of weeks, analysts believe that valuations aren't stretched and markets could continue to move up at a gradual pace from current levels.

The index's previous life high was 22,126.8 on 2 February previous ary, slightly above the high of 22,124.15 on 16 January.

On a one-year forward basis, the Nifty trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of 18.1 times against the historic average of 16.96, shows Bloomberg data.