The stock market rises sharply, led by heavy purchasing of IT shares.

NEW DELHI: Domestic equity markets experienced a strong rally on Friday, with the BSE Sensex settling above 66,000 and the NSE Nifty closing above 19,500 for the first time. This rally was driven by heavy purchasing in the IT sector.

The 30share index reached a new peak of 66,160 on Friday and gained 502 points to close at 66,061. The broader Nifty50 index reached a new peak of 19,595 before closing 151 points higher at 19,565.According to market analysts, the bullish momentum is anticipated to continue as central banks around the globe halt their interest rate hikes.

“We believe that the widespread market rally is due to the stability of interest rates…This has resulted in the global reversal of capital flows from developed to developing markets. Ritesh Bhagwati, vice president at Rockstud Capital, stated that FII investments have totaled close to Rs 1.28 lakh crore CYTD.

Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president (research) at Mehta Equities, stated that the next milestone for Nifty is 20,000.”Bulls are likely to retain control as long as positive catalysts such as softer inflation readings in the US and expectations of a pause in rate increases by the Fed persist. In the immediate future, Tapse expects the Nifty to reach new all-time highs near 20,000.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 5% among Sensex 30 stocks, while Tech Mahindra and Infosys each rose 4.5%. HCL Technologies and Wipro both increased by roughly 3%. As the sector’s order book continues to expand, experts believe the sector’s outlook has improved following Q1FY24 results. Consequently, demand for IT equities has increased.On Thursday, both TCS and Infosys shares rose by approximately 2.5%. In just two days, the combined market capitalization of the two largest IT companies increased by over ‘1.300 lakh crore.