What pushed Nifty to new all-time high above 22,800 today: 2 major factors

Stock market today: Nifty Bank jumped 1.6% while PSU rail and defence stocks rose as well- GRSE, Cochin Shipyard and Mazagon Dock were up to 20%.

Stock market today: Nifty rose over 1 percent and hit a fresh high of 22,852 today (May 23) owing to Q4 earnings meeting estimates, Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) record dividend payout and election certainty. Sensex was up 757 points or 1 percent at 74,978, and Nifty 50 was up 229 points at 22,827 as around 1,639 shares advanced, 1,641 shares declined and 115 shares remained unchanged.

Stock market today: A bird flies past a screen displaying the Sensex results on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. (Reuters)

Nifty Bank jumped 1.6% while PSU rail and defence stocks rose as well- GRSE, Cochin Shipyard and Mazagon Dock were up to 20% and PSU rail stocks RVNL and IRFC were also trading 7-8% higher.

These factors contributed to the Nifty crossing 22,800 for the first time ever:

RBI's record dividend payout

Record ₹2.11 lakh crore dividend from the Reserve Bank of India has been declared this week which is expected to help the government contain fiscal deficit. ICRA's chief economist Aditi Nayar said, “The higher-than-budgeted RBI surplus transfer would help to boost the government of India's resource envelope in FY2025, allowing for enhanced expenditures or a sharper fiscal consolidation than what was pencilled into the Interim Budget for FY2025. Increasing the funds available for capex would certainly boost the quality of the fiscal deficit.”

Election results

Investors seem more hopeful of a BJP win in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Nervousness was seen considering the voter turnout in the first five phases of the elections but there seems to more confidence in the stock market now.