The Indian stock market's record-setting spree continued on Thursday, July 4, as investors maintained a strategy of booking profits at higher levels. The market benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, closed with nominal gains after rising half a percent each and hitting fresh all-time high levels.

Market Performance

The Indian stock market began the session impressively, trading with gains amid positive global cues. However, key indices pared their gains significantly towards the end of the session, indicating growing caution against the market's premium valuation. According to Bloomberg data, the Nifty 50's current price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is slightly above 24 compared to its one-year forward PE of 19, and the index's price-to-book (PB) ratio stands at 4 compared to its one-year forward PB of 3.2.

The Sensex opened at 80,321.79 against its previous close of 79,986.80, rising 0.50 percent to hit its fresh record high of 80,392.64 during the session. However, the index erased most gains and settled just 63 points, or 0.08 percent, up at 80,049.67.

The Nifty 50 opened at 24,369.95 against its previous close of 24,286.50 and clocked a gain of about half a percent to make a fresh peak of 24,401. The index finally closed 16 points, or 0.06 percent, up at 24,302.15.

Midcap and Smallcap Performance

Despite concerns over high valuations, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices hit fresh record highs, closing with gains larger than those of the benchmarks. Both indices ended 0.60 percent higher each.

Market Capitalization

The overall market capitalization of firms listed on the BSE rose to a record level of nearly ₹447.36 lakh crore. In the previous session, it stood at nearly ₹445.44 lakh crore, indicating that investors earned about ₹2 lakh crore in a single session.

Top Gainers and Losers

Top Nifty 50 Gainers: Shares of Tata Motors (up 2.75 percent), HCL Tech (up 2.63 percent), and ICICI Bank (up 2.53 percent) emerged as the top gainers among the 23 Nifty 50 stocks that closed in the green.

Top Nifty 50 Losers: Shares of HDFC Bank (down 2.30 percent), Bajaj Finance (down 2.06 percent), and Adani Enterprises (down 1.47 percent) closed as the top losers in the Nifty 50 index.

Sectoral Indices

Bank Nifty closed almost flat, up 0.03 percent, while the Private Bank index and PSU Bank index inched up by 0.07 percent and 0.16 percent respectively.

Among the gainers, Nifty Pharma (up 1.39 percent), Healthcare (up 1.28 percent), IT (up 1.10 percent), and Auto (up 0.73 percent) stood at the top.

As the market continues to scale new heights, investors remain cautious of the high valuations while selectively booking profits. The broad-based gains in midcap and smallcap stocks, along with strong performances in sectors like Pharma and IT, signal a robust market sentiment despite the challenges.

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