After opening the day on the higher, Indian benchmark indices maintained the momentum as the session progressed but ended the day on firm footing.
Indian benchmarks - BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty - ended the week's first trading session on a higher note.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 612 points (0.8%).
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 187 point (up 0.8%).
TCS, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors among the top gainers today.
ONGC, NTPC and Hindalco on the other hand, were among the top losers today.
The GIFT Nifty was trading at 25,046 up 203 points at the time of writing.
For a comprehensive overview of key players in the financial sector, check out list of Fin Nifty Companies.
For impact of the Bank Nifty companies and comprehensive overview of the index, check out Equitymaster's Bank Nifty Companies list
The BSE MidCap index ended 0.7% lower and BSE SmallCap index ended 0.2% higher.
Barring Telecom sector, all other sectoral indices were trading mixed with socks in metal sector and oil & gas sector witnessed buying speer.
Shares of Dixon Technologies, Bajaj Auto hit their respective 52-week highs today.
Now track the biggest movers of the stock market using stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...
The rupee is trading at 83.90 against the US$.
Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.6% higher at Rs 72,197 per 10 grams.
Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 1% higher at Rs 86,090 per 1 kg.
Here are factors that pushed indices higher.
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell comments nearly confirmed a September rate cut, spurring a further drop in the dollar. Powell, at Fed's Jackson Hole symposium said that the time had come for policy to adjust, reinforcing expectations that the Fed will cut rates at the next month's meeting.
Asian shares crept cautiously higher on Monday amid the rate cut hopes. Investors are also anxiously awaiting earnings from AI darling Nvidia later this week to see if it can match the market's uber-high expectations. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.8 per cent. On Monday, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were steady.
Both domestic and foreign investors remained buyers of Indian Equities on Friday. FIIs bought local shares worth Rs 19.4 bn, while the domestic funds pumped in Rs 28.9 bn in the previous trading session. However, overseas investors have pulled out Rs 163.1 bn from Indian equities so far.
Speaking of the stock market, technical analysts are buzzing about this real estate stock, but is the fundamental analysis strong enough to justify a 10x return?
Co-head of Research at Equitymaster, Rahul Shah dives deep into the company's financials, growth prospects, and industry trends to find out.
Tune into below video for more
In news from the fintech sector, Paytm's share price dropped sharply to the day's low Rs 505.5 per share on the NSE in Monday's trade after founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and board members faced markets regulator SEBI's show-cause notices over IPO breaches.
Shares of Paytm dropped shortly after Moneycontrol reported that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued show-cause notices to Vijay Shekhar Sharma and board members who served during its initial public offering in November 2021 for alleged misrepresentation of facts.
The recent notices pertain to Sharma's alleged non-compliance with promoter classification norms. The probe was initiated based on inputs from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which had examined Paytm Payments Bank earlier this year.
In 2024 so far, the stock has dropped 18.17 percent as per BSE. In the last one year, it gave negative returns of 41.2%.
Moving on to news from the IT sector, Zen Technologies' share price today hit a record new high of Rs 1,876.05, up 5% on the BSE in Monday's (26 August) intraday trade.
The rise in the share price came after the company successfully raised Rs 10 bn through its first-ever qualified institutional placement (QIP).
The stock price of the defence simulation training equipment and counter-drone solutions provider surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,865, touched on 22 August 2024.
In the past month, the market price of Zen Technologies has appreciated by 32 per cent. It has zoomed 110 from its June month low of Rs 893.80 on the BSE.
In an exchange filing, Zen Technologies said the company has allocated 6.25 million equity shares to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) at an issue price of Rs 1,601 per share.
Zen Technologies had launched the QIP on 21 August 2024 and closed on August 23, 2024. It saw significant interest from both domestic and international investors, with the issue getting oversubscribed by around 5 times, underscoring strong confidence in the company's strategic vision and market position.
Key investors participating in this QIP included Kotak Mutual Fund, White Oak Offshore Fund, White Oak Mutual Fund, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund, and Bandhan Mutual Fund.
The company said the proceeds from the QIP will be strategically deployed to accelerate Zen Technologies' growth plans.
Zen Technologies, a leading Indian defence company for over 30 years, specialises in combat training solutions and counter-drone technologies.
Moving on to the news from the BPO sector, shares of Hinduja Global Solutions climbed more than 5% to Rs 954 apiece on 26 August, following a notable transaction by Legends Global Opportunities (Singapore) Pte.
This entity purchased 7.11 lakh shares, equivalent to a 1.5% stake in the company, at Rs 885 per share.
Conversely, New Leaina Investments sold 3.64 lakh shares, representing a 0.8% stake, at Rs 904 per share.
For the quarter ending in June, Hinduja Global Solutions reported a substantial increase in its consolidated profit at Rs 1.6 bn. This surge was primarily attributed to the proceeds from the sale of its healthcare business.
However, revenue from operations experienced a decline of 3.6% year-over-year, totalling Rs 10.9 bn.
Hinduja Global Solutions, a key player in the multi-billion-dollar Hinduja Group, operates across nine countries.
To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.
For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!
Read the latest Market Commentary
Equitymaster requests your view! Post a comment on "Sensex Today Ends 612 Points Higher | Nifty Above 25,000 | 3 Reasons Why India Share Market is Rising". Click here!
Comments are moderated by Equitymaster, in accordance with the Terms of Use, and may not appear
on this article until they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.
In the meantime, you may want to share this article with your friends!