Stock tide lifts mkt cap to $4 tn, above India GDP forecast

Robust domestic buying as well as short-covering by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) ahead of the assembly election results on 3 December propelled BSE's market capitalization to $3.99 trillion on Wednesday, well past the government's nominal gross domestic product (GDP) forecast of $3.62 trillion for the current fiscal (FY24).

- Ram Sahgal

The Nifty 50 index reclaimed the 20,000-mark after a span of two months.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIS) purchased shares worth a provisional ₹2,360.81 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPI), who nibbled at ₹71.91 crore worth of purchases, are believed to have raised their already bullish bets on stock futures, market analysts said.

The institutional buying, along with that of direct retail participation, pushed up the bellwether Nifty index to twoweek highs, up 1.04% to 20,096.60 points, and the Sensex by 1.1% to 66,901.91.

"Domestic inflows continue to remain strong, absorbing the recent selling by FPIS around 19,000 levels, and form the fulcrum of the rally," said Gaurav Dua, head-capital market strategy, Sharekhan, by BNP Paribas. "The additional tailwind is in the form of falling US bond yields and the DXY (dollar index), which has attracted FPI interest back to (emerging markets). I remain bullish and think the Nifty is on course to test and surpass its record high."