Bull run continues: Nifty ends at record high; Sensex rises 307 points

Key equity indices held on to its early trade gains as fresh buying was seen in index heavyweights amid declining Covid-19 cases Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s announcement on unlocking restrictions.

Sensex ended 307 points or 0.65% higher at 51,422 levels and Nifty posted a fresh record high of 15,469 on an intraday basis and ended at a new record high of 15,435, up 97 points or 0.64%.

Reliance Industries soared 5.85% and was the top gainer on Sensex, followed by M&M (2.13%) while HDFC twins rose around 1.4% each and IndusInd Bank was up 1.2%. Whereas stocks like Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were the laggards tanking up to 4.30%

“Equity markets, unlike investors, are always forward-looking. One of the key reasons why the indices have not corrected despite the second wave is that financial and human impact needs to be differentiated. Unlike the first wave, the state governments have been smart about the lockdown and in that respect logistics and production has not completely broken down. Hence, the overall economic impact on the economy and growth is going to be limited. Moreover, with a V-shaped recovery still in the offing and prospects of a double-digit growth still look bright for FY22, the rally in quality good & clean stocks has just started,” said Manish Jain, Fund Manager, Ambit Asset Management.

Buzzing sectors

Sectorally Nifty Pharma & Nifty IT indices lost 1.18% and 0.15%, respectively. On the upside, Nifty PSU Bank was leading with gains of 0.67% while Nifty Metal, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Auto indices rose around 0.20%. Whereas Nifty Bank was up 0.13% and the Nifty Realty index was marginally up about 0.05%.

Meanwhile, the volatility index India VIX cooled off further by 12.78% and ended at 17.36 levels.

Broader markets

Unlike benchmark indices, some pain was visible in the broader markets as BSE Midcap lost 0.12% and the BSE Smallcap index slipped almost 0.50%. Even the market breadth was in favour of the bears as 1,136 stocks declined versus 785 shares advancing and 280 scrips remained unchanged.

Global markets

Bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended on a positive note, while Shanghai was in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading with gains in mid-session deals.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.25% higher at $ 69.37 per barrel.