Bulls take charge: Sensex reclaims 61K mark for first time in 2 months

The benchmark indices gained for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday. The Sensex closed above the 61,000-mark after 10 weeks amidst positive global cues and optimism about the corporate earnings.

The benchmark Sensex ended the session at 61,150 — a gain of 533 points, or 0.8 per cent. The Nifty, on the other hand, ended the session at 18,212 — a gain of 156 points, or 0.8 per cent. The BSE gauge is closing above the 61,000-mark after October 27, 2021.

Investors were enthused after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's statement to the US Congress did not throw up surprises. Powell said it would take the central bank some time to unwind its balance sheet. Further, Powell added that the Fed actions should not negatively affect the employment market.

Analysts termed Powell's statement as less than hawkish. They said it reassured investors that the US central bank would not prioritise fighting inflation over everything, including employment.

Equity markets have been volatile since the past week after the Fed minutes showed that its officials favoured rate hikes to tame unabated inflation sooner than expected.

Hopes that companies would post robust earnings for the December quarter also excited investors. The earnings season began on Wednesday, with the announcement of the third-quarter results by Wipro, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

“The market will closely monitor the inflation data to be released in India and the US later on Wednesday. Also, the results from index heavyweights — TCS, Infosys, and Wipro — will guide the sentiment. From here on, we expect the market to remain steady on the back of hopes of strong corporate earnings, sentiment around the upcoming Budget, and the macroeconomic improvement data,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head-retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Ajit Mishra, vice-president (research), Religare, said it will be a critical session on Thursday as participants react to the results of the information technology majors and the macroeconomic data (Index of Industrial Production and Consumer Price Index inflation) in early trade.

“Besides, the scheduled weekly expiry will also keep the volatility high. We're still seeing opportunities across the board. Traders should maintain their focus on the selection part and align position accordingly,” said Mishra.

Asian stock markets were mostly higher, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,810 stocks advancing and 1,644 declining. Around 491 stocks were locked in the upper circuit, and 611 hit their 52 week highs.

Four-fifths of the Sensex constituents gained. Mahindra & Mahindra was the best performing Sensex stock and rose 4.7 per cent. Bharti Airtel rose 3.7 per cent, and Reliance Industries 2.7 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers worth Rs 1,001 crore. Barring two, all the sectoral indices on the BSE ended with gains. Telecommunication and power stocks gained the most, and their indices gained 3.1 and 2.2 per cent, respectively, on the BSE.