New Delhi

Indian stocks started the week in the red, but they reversed during the session to end with gains.

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Global cues in Asian trading hours pointed to weakness for risky assets as investors focused on the yen after a Japanese official said they were ready to intervene 24/7 in the currency market to shore up the currency.

However, buying the dips pushed Indian benchmark indices to turn green in the second half of the session.

The blue-chip Sensex index started the day over 300 points lower but finished the session with over 130 points of gains to close at 77,341.08.

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The pattern in the broader Nifty 50 index was similar. The index closed 0.16 per cent higher at 23,537.85, not far from its record high of 23,667.10.

New highs this week?

Looking at the trend over the last two weeks, barring Monday, Indian stocks have hit a record high in each session since June 7.

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The Sensex is looking at a new milestone of 78,000, while the Nifty is eying the 24,000 mark.

The run-up in Indian stocks intensified after the near $400 billion loss on the election results day,

Since then, benchmark indices have risen over 7 per cent, and the voting count day losses were recovered within three sessions.

That marked the fastest pace of recovery of over 5 per cent loss in the last decade.

Budget questions remain

Bets on a pro-growth budget have boosted stocks, but questions on fiscal discipline and job creation policies have kept them in check.

Broadly, India's growth is projected by the Reserve Bank of India and major global institutions to be over 7 per cent in the current year, making it the fastest-growing major economy again.

However, a new coalition government has cast some doubt in investors' minds about the reforms push for tough policies.

Fed's preferred inflation in focus

This week, investors will eye the US Federal Reserve's preferred inflation data for clues on the rate path.

While the US central bank has acknowledged a disinflation trend gripping in, policymakers also bet on higher rates for longer.

Fed officials want evidence that inflation is tracking back to the central bank's target.