The Sensex surged nearly 400 points to a record high of 35,476 while the Nifty rose to 10,887, also a new high

Stock markets are on a roll. A day after Sensex conquered 35,000, the benchmark index posted fresh highs amid higher global markets and optimism about earnings of India Inc. Asian stocks struck record highs today, with a rally by Wall Street supporting bullish investor sentiment. The Sensex surged nearly 400 points to a record high of 35,476 while the Nifty rose to 10,887, also a new high. The rupee also moved higher to 63.84 against the dollar, compared to Wednesday’s close of 63.88. Apart from a global market rally, optimism about acceleration in corporate earnings growth and economic growth has spurred markets to new highs this year, say analysts.

10 Things To Know About Sensex, Nifty Gains Today:

1) Banking stocks extended gains with the Bank Nifty rising 1.7 per cent. Banking sector stocks gained after the government on Wednesday cut its additional market borrowing requirement by more than half for the current fiscal year to Rs. 20,000 crore. SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank rose over 1 per cent.

2) “Investor sentiment was buoyed by government announcement of a lower borrowing target which drove down the bond yields, says Sanjeev Zarbade, vice president-PCG research at Kotak Securities,

3) Also boosting sentiment in banking stocks, a newspaper report said citing sources that the government is considering a proposal to allow foreign investors to own larger stakes in the nation’s banks.

4) Foreign institutional investors (FIIs)/foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been strong buyers of Indian equities in the past few sessions. On Wednesday, they bought shares worth a net Rs. 625.13 crore.

5) Third-quarter earnings of India Inc have also got off to a good start with IT majors TCS and Infosys meeting market expectations. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever also posted strong third-quarter numbers on Wednesday, underpinned by higher sales from its personal care business.

6) Many brokerages expect the Sensex and Nifty to give good returns in 2018. Expecting an earnings growth of 21.5 per cent next fiscal year, domestic stock brokerage HDFC Securities has set its Nifty target at 11,800 for fiscal year 2019.

7) Some recent economic data points such as auto sales and industrial production have also been encouraging. HDFC Securities managing director and chief executive Dhiraj Relli said recovery in private capital expenditure is on the anvil with encouraging manufacturing PMI and factory output numbers.

8) Rising inflation and global crude prices however remain a worry for Indian markets. Experts say that in the near term, the Union Budget – which is set to presented on February 1, third-quarter earnings of India Inc and global markets will determine the trend in the markets in the near term.

9) Besides, if earnings expectations are not met, it could be a disappointment for the markets given the high valuations, they add.

10) US stocks jumped overnight and the Dow closed above 26,000 for the first time as investors’ expectations for higher earnings lifted stocks across sectors.