VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the robust Q2 GDP print has boosted sentiment. "The excellent Q2 GDP numbers at 8.2 per cent, particularly the impressive growth in manufacturing, services, and final consumption expenditure, have the potential to take the market higher," he said.

Market scales fresh all time high: Sensex crosses 86,150; Nifty hits 26,325; key triggers

Indian Equity Benchmarks Reach Fresh Record Highs

The Indian equity benchmarks scaled fresh record highs on Monday, with the 30-share BSE Sensex pack rising 452.35 points to a new all-time high of 86,159.02 and the broader NSE Nifty index advancing 122.85 points to touch a lifetime peak of 26,325.80.

The rally was driven by strong domestic macro data and gains in select index heavyweights.

Driving Factors Behind the Rally

Robust Q2 GDP Print: VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, attributed the robust Q2 GDP print to the excellent growth in manufacturing, services, and final consumption expenditure.
Nominal Growth: He noted that the modest nominal growth at 8.7 per cent due to low GDP deflator is disappointing from the market perspective.

Challenges Ahead

Narrow Nature of the Rally: Vijayakumar highlighted that the market's rise has not translated into broader portfolio gains for many retail investors due to the narrow nature of the rally.
Eight Stocks Dominating the Index: He emphasized that eight stocks, including HDFC Bank, RIL, ICICI Bank, and others, have 50 per cent weighting in Nifty, making the index rise when these heavy weights move up.
Non-Performing Stocks: Vijayakumar noted that 330 stocks in NSE 500 are below their September 2024 peak, which is a concern for retail investors.

Monetary Policy Review

Vijayakumar also noted that monetary easing is unlikely in the upcoming policy review, as the economy is firing on all cylinders and doesn't need a monetary stimulus.

Flows Front

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs): FIIs extended their selling on November 28 with net outflows of Rs 3,795 crore.
Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs): DIIs continued their monthly buying spree, adding Rs 4,148 crore on the same day.

Advising Caution

Advising caution, Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, advised traders to adopt a "selective buy-on-dips approach, manage leverage prudently and use tight trailing stop-losses with staggered profit-booking."