Sensex hovering at 34,000, Nifty near 10,500: Five reasons that led to the stock market rally

New Delhi: Stock indices on Friday closed on a merry note ahead of Christmas as benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rallied to all-time peaks, with IT, technology and capital goods running the show.

While the Sensex came within the kissing distance of 34,000, the Nifty ended slightly short of 10,500. Intra-day, both scaled life highs.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a strong footing at 33,768.47 and hit a fresh intra-day high of 33,964.28. It ended at 33,940.30, a new closing, up 184.02 points, or 0.55 percent.

For the broader Nifty, the close came at a fresh peak of 10,493, up 52.70 points, or 0.50 percent, breaking its previous record of 10,463.20 hit on December 19.

Here are 5 reasons that led to the stock market rally

1. According to market observers, positive global cues and healthy buying in IT and auto stocks continued to drive the upward rally of the domestic equity markets. IT was a clear winner of the day, riding on a big order win by TCS. Soft crude prices and a strong rupee gave fodder to bulls.
2. Passage of US tax reform bill aimed at reducing corporate tax rates and strong US Q3 GDP growth led the rally in global markets, which was extended to the domestic market and Nifty hit an all time high 10,500 (during the day).
3. The expectation of a good Budget and strong H2 FY18 earnings also supported this rally.
4. Soft crude prices and a strong rupee gave fodder to bulls. The rupee soared to an over fresh three-month high against the dollar fuelled the rally.
5. Broader markets stood out as the mid-cap index maintained an upward trend for the seventh straight session and finished at a record by gaining 0.11 percent. The small-cap index was also on the rise for the sixth session, beating the Sensex with a gain of 0.58 percent.