Sensex crosses 80,000 in a first, Nifty hits record highs; HDFC Bank soars

Indian stock market hit record highs at the open today (July 3) owing to HDFC Bank which surged on hopes of a likely increase in its weightage in a key global index. The NSE Nifty 50 was up 0.7% at 24,291.75 points, while BSE Sensex added 0.72% to 80,013.77 points, as of 9:15 a.m. This marks the first time that the 30-stock Sensex has crossed the 80,000 mark.

Read more: Namita Thapar's Emcure Pharmaceuticals IPO opens today: All you need to know

Why is HDFC Bank share rising today?

HDFC Bank rose 3.5% at the open, leading Nifty 50 gains. This comes as foreign institutional investors' shareholding in HDFC Bank in the June quarter dropped below 55%, data released showed. This raised the possibility of a likely increase in weightage in global index provider Morgan Stanley's MSCI indexes.

Read more: Reliance Jio, Airtel price hike: What changes for you as new rates take effect

"After the solid bull run in markets, now HDFC Bank is set to give another boost," Abhilash Pagaria, head of Nuvama Alternative and Quantitative Research, said as per Reuters.

"A weight increase could bring in $3.2 billion-$4 billion inflows over six days," he added.

Read more: Zerodha to end zero brokerage structure? What Nithin Kamath said on Sebi order

In the stock market, all 13 major sectors logged gains. The rise in HDFC Bank powered banks, financials and private banks 1.3%-1.5% higher.

Currency watch

The rupee depreciated 5 paise to 83.53 against the US dollar in early trade weighed down by the strong American currency and elevated crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 83.51 and lost further ground to trade at 83.53 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a fall of 5 paise from its previous closing level.