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The Indian market hit a fresh record high on Thursday amid short covering following RBI’s record dividend payout to the government that could lead to better fiscal position and softer bond yields.The S&P BSE Sensex rose nearly 1,200 points to hit a record high of 75,499 while the Nifty50 closed at 22,967.“There was enthusiasm in the equity market after the RBI approved a Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government,” says Neeraj Chadawar, Head – Fundamental and Quantitative Research at Axis Securities.“This indicates a better fiscal position and softer bond yields going forward. As a result of this positive move, we are seeing some short covering in the market,” he said.Sectorally, buying was seen in banks, capital goods, auto and consumer durables while marginal selling was seen in healthcare and metal stocks.Stocks that hit a fresh record high include names like Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd which was up nearly 20%, Cochin Shipyard rose over 16% and RVNL closed with gains of nearly 9% on Thursday.We have collated a list of three stocks that either hit a fresh 52-week high, or an all-time high or saw a volume or a price breakout.We spoke to an analyst on how one should look at these stocks the next trading day entirely from an educational point of view. Here’s what analyst Sanket Thakar (CMT, Founder- Alpha Bot Capital) had to say:Cochin ShipyardThe stock has entered its all-time high level just a few days after the breakout from its rising channel pattern.The intraday target has almost been achieved and could retrace a bit back to its near support level of 1,784 in coming days. The overall trend still remains strongly up. 110371710Garden Reach ShipbuildersGarden Reach Shipbuilders broke out of a bullish flag pattern in April 2024 & the pattern is aiming at the target of 1,500, which is expected to reach very soon. After that it may attract some profit booking. 110371704Rail Vikas Nigam LimitedRVNL is already in its bull run pursuit after a bullish flag pattern breakout in the daily chart. The pattern is aiming at a target of 400 & 440 in the near future. 110371701(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

Jaipur: Large parts of India sweltered under a heat wave for the seventh day on the trot on Thursday, with the mercury soaring to 48.8 degrees Celsius in Rajasthan's Barmer, the highest temperature recorded in the country this year so far. Official data showed that at least 16 places in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh recorded maximum temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius or above on Thursday.The brutal heat wave will continue for at least five more days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.In Rajasthan, Churu logged a high of 47.4 degrees Celsius, Phalodi 47.8 degrees, and Jaisalmer 47.2 degrees.Maximum temperatures settled at 46.6 degrees in Madhya Pradesh's Guna, 45.9 degrees in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, 45 degrees in Uttar Pradesh's Orai, 45.4 degrees each in Punjab's Bathinda and Haryana's Sirsa.However, in Delhi, the maximum temperature dipped slightly on Thursday but remained around a notch above the normal for this time of the year. The IMD said the maximum temperature was recorded 0.8 notch above normal at 41 degrees Celsius.The Met office issued a 'red' warning for Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and west Uttar Pradesh, emphasising a "very high likelihood" of heat illness and heatstroke in all ages.It said warm night conditions could further exacerbate heat-related stress in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan over the next three days.High night temperatures are considered dangerous because the body doesn't get a chance to cool down. Increasing nighttime heat is more common in cities because of the urban heat island effect, in which metro areas are significantly hotter than their surroundings.The punishing heat is straining power grids and drying up water bodies, triggering drought-like conditions in parts of the country.According to the Central Water Commission, water storage in 150 major reservoirs in India plunged to their lowest level in five years last week, exacerbating water shortages in many states and significantly affecting hydropower generation.Severe and frequent heat waves are further burdening low-income households in the country, which often have poor access to water and cooling, and testing the endurance of outdoor workers toiling in the searing sun, forcing them to take frequent breaks.Experts say outdoor workers, the elderly, and children are at higher risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1,66,000 people died as a result of heat waves between 1998 and 2017.India reported 3,812 deaths due to heat waves between 2015 and 2022, with Andhra Pradesh alone logging 2,419 fatalities, the government told Parliament in July last year.People are less productive during hot weather, and children struggle to learn.Shyamal Santra of the NGO Transform Rural India said studies show that students perform worse in tests when they experience a 'hot school year' compared to a 'cool school year'."With 15 per cent of government schools in India not having a functional electricity connection and many being single-classroom schools, heat waves disproportionately affect rural educational outcomes," he said.In the absence of adequate cold-chain infrastructure, extreme heat can cause major damage to fresh produce.Studies show India faces food losses worth USD 13 billion a year, with only four per cent of fresh produce covered by cold chain facilities.According to a World Bank report, India could account for 34 million of the projected 80 million global job losses from heat stress-associated productivity decline by 2030.With 75 per cent of workers in India experiencing heat-related stress, lost labour from rising heat and humidity could result in a loss of up to 4.5 per cent of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (equivalent to approximately USD 150-250 billion) by the end of this decade, according to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute.

Nifty ended the Thursday weekly expiry stronger by 370 points at record high levels to form a long bull candle on the daily chart.On the higher end, above 23,000, the index might move towards 23,500 in the short term. On the lower end, support is placed at 22,800; the strength could remain intact as long as it remains above 22,800, said Rupak De of LKP Securities.An analysis of Nifty put options reveals a concentration of Open Interest (OI) at the 22,700 level, implying potential support at this level. On the Call side, significant OI concentrations are observed at the 23,500 and 24,000 levels.What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:Jatin Gedia, SharekhanNifty has decisively broken above the previous resistance zone of 22,750 - 22,800 and is now heading towards the upper end of the rising channel placed at 23,100 – 23,150. Beyond which it can stretch towards 23,510. The zone of 22,750 – 22,800 shall now act as a support as per the principle of role reversal. The midcap index made an all-time high on the 17th May, Nifty on 23rd May while the Bank Nifty is still lagging and well below its all- time high.Tejas Shah, Technical Research, JM Financial & BlinkXThe short-term moving averages are just below the price action and should continue to support the indices on any decline. Support for the Nifty is now seen at 22,750-800 and 22,500-550 levels. On the higher side, the psychological resistance is at the 23,000 mark and the next resistance zone is at 23,150-200 levels. Overall, all dips should be used as an opportunity to buy.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

India should consider lowering the 18% tax imposed on recruitment agencies for providing outsourced staff to big companies, an industry body said on Thursday, which could help boost employment and wages of contract workers. The Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), a body of 125 recruitment agencies which provided 1.6 million outsourced workers to companies last year, said the new government after the elections ending on June 1 should take steps to support the hiring of more salaried workers. Unemployment has emerged as one of the key issues in India's election campaign, and opposition parties led by the Indian National Congress have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking much-needed steps to address the issue. "We pay 18% goods and services tax (GST), equivalent to flying in an airline or eating at a five-star hotel," said Lohit Bhatia, president of ISF. "This discourages many employers from hiring contract workers through recruitment agencies as they see the steep tax as an additional burden." India's third-party recruitment agencies paid nearly 242 billion rupees ($2.9 billion) in tax to the government last year on the hiring of 5.4 million supporting staff in IT, retail and manufacturing paid 1.17 trillion rupees in total annually, the ISF said in a statement. The average salary of outsourced staff was 18,000 rupees a month along with social security benefits, and had grown by 3-4% per annum after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to industry estimates. Bhatia said if the GST tax rate on staffing services was lowered to 5% it could lead to the hiring of millions of contract workers formally through recruitment agencies and generate higher tax receipts over a period. The unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 29 years increased to 17% in India's urban areas in the first quarter of 2024, according to data released by the Statistics Ministry earlier this month, from 16.5% in the previous year. The unemployment rate among young women climbed to 22.7% and 15.1% among men, the government data showed, as more workers entered the job market.