Indian stocks hit record highs on back of HDFC Bank strength

Indian stock markets soared to record closing highs on Wednesday, driven by a surge in HDFC Bank, the country’s leading private lender.

The NSE Nifty 50 opened 0.67 per cent higher at 24,286.5 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.69 per cent to reach 79,986.8 points, surpassing the 80,000 mark for the first time.

HDFC Bank led gains on both indexes, rising 2.2 per cent, driving banks, financials, and private banks 1.7-2.1 per cent higher.

Market participants expect HDFC Bank’s weightage in the MSCI Emerging Markets index to double from 3.8 per cent to 7.8 per cent in the August rebalancing, according to Macquarie analysts.

Analysts predict inflows of $3.2 billion to $4 billion into HDFC Bank as a result of this change, which could also boost benchmarks in the short term.

Small- and mid-cap stocks, which are more focused on domestic markets, saw gains of 1.03 per cent and 0.79 per cent respectively.