Sensex, Nifty Close At Record Highs On Strong Global Cues

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes surged to record highs on Monday on the back of strong global cues on expectations of better global trade ties and more monetary stimulus under the US President-elect Joe Biden supported risk appetite. Better-than-expected earnings in September quarter by Indian companies also boosted the investors’ confidence, analysts said. The Sensex rose as much as 752 points to hit an intraday record high of 42,645.33 and Nifty 50 index climbed to an all-time high of 12,474.

1. The Sensex surged 704 points or 1.68 per cent to close at record high of 42,597 and Nifty 50 index climbed 197 points or 1.61 per cent to close at record high of 12,461.
2. Global markets had started strong last week on the prospect of a Biden presidency and a Republican-controlled US Senate, and the Democratic candidate’s projected victory on Saturday gave more fuel to the upmove.
3. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, rose 0.5 per cent to a record high in early European hours. On Friday, it posted its biggest one-week gain in nearly seven months.
4. Back home, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever and HDFC were top movers in the Sensex. They collectively contributed over 450 points towards the gain in the Sensex.
5. Buying was visible across the board as all the 19 sector gauges, barring the index of pharma shares, ended higher led by the S&P BSE Telecom index’s nearly 4 per cent gain. Banking, power, metal, consumer durables, utilities and energy shares also witnessed strong buying interest.
6. Shares of information technology companies surged on hopes that US President-elect Joe Biden will ease the policy on work visas (H-1B visas). Analysts said that expectations of an easier work visa regime triggered buying interest in information technology (IT) companies, which depend on work visas to send their employees to work for their clients in US, the biggest market for Indian IT services companies.
7. Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed buying interest as S&P BSE MidCap index rose 1 per cent and S&P BSE SmallCap index climbed 0.6 per cent.
8. In the Nifty 50 basket, 43 shares closed higher led by Divi’s Labs’ 5.5 per cent gain. Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Hindalco, Bharat Petroleum, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Shree Cements, HDFC Bank and Power Grid also rose 2.6-5 per cent each.
9. On the flip side, Cipla, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, Grasim Industries, Dr Reddy’s Labs and Bajaj Finserv were among the notable losers.
10. The overall market breadth was positive as 1,508 shares closed higher while 1,183 closed lower on the BSE.