Markets end at record high; Nifty nears 11k-mark after heavyweights rally

Stocks ended at record highs for the fourth session with the benchmark Nifty nearing the 11,000-mark amid huge inflows from overseas investors and sharp gains in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
 

The BSE Sensex surged 286.43 points, or 0.81 per cent, to close at 35,798.01, while the broader National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty ended at 10,966.20 — all-time closing high for both the indices.
 

Overseas investors bought shares worth Rs 15.7 billion as domestic investors pulled out Rs 4.6 billion, according to provisional data by the bourses. So far this month, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have invested $1.2 billion in domestic stocks, helping the benchmark Sensex climb 5.1 per cent.
 

Stocks have been on a record-setting spree following better-than-expected earnings by leading companies and a recent cut in the goods and services tax (GST) rates for certain products and services.

 

The 30-share Sensex, after opening on a strong footing, continued its upward march to hit an all-time high of 35,827.70. It shed some ground on profit-booking before finally ending higher at 35,798.01, smashing its previous record close of 35,511.58 reached on Friday. The gauge had gained 740.53 points in the previous three sessions.
 

The NSE Nifty also hit a record intra-day high of 10,975.10, before finishing at 10,966.20, up 71.50 points, or 0.66 per cent. It bettered its previous closing high of 10,894.70 reached in Friday’s trade. “The market continued its upward trajectory by supporting the premium valuation with better quarter earnings. The global market was negative but foreign institutional investors’ (FIIs) continued preference for the domestic market on expectation of a good Budget uplifted the sentiment,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
 

TCS, rose the most among the Sensex components, surging 5.36 per cent to close at a new high of Rs 3,113.15, followed by RIL at 4.50 per cent to Rs 971.20. Market value of the Tata group flagship company neared Rs 6 trillion on Monday.

Currently, only RIL is in the Rs 6-trillion market capitalisation club. RIL shares gained 4.5 per cent on Monday, making a 138-point contribution to the Sensex rally, after brokerages upgraded the stock after its earnings beat market expectations. ONGC spurted 3.28 per cent after it got a go-ahead to acquire the government’s entire 51.11 per cent stake in HPCL for Rs 369.15 billion.
 

Axis Bank rose 3.52 per cent as it reported a 25 per cent growth in its third quarter net profit and a decline in provisions for bad loans.
 

Other prominent gainers Yes Bank, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Kotak Bank, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Hero MotoCorp, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories rose by up to 3.52 per cent.However, shares of Wipro dropped 2.33 per cent after the third-largest IT services firm reported an 8.4 per cent fall in its December quarter consolidated net profit. Bharti Airtel, Asian Paint, HDFC Ltd, SBI, Hind Unilever and ICICI Bank, too, ended lower on profit-booking. The BSE IT index rose the most by gaining 2.01 per cent, followed by realty 1.95 per cent, capital goods 1.79 per cent, teck 1.38 per cent, consumer durables 0.76 per cent, healthcare 0.66 per cent, infrastructure 0.56 per cent, oil & gas 0.52 per cent, bankex 0.47 per cent, power 0.28 per cent and auto 0.21 per cent.
 

The broader markets, too, remained bullish, with the BSE small-cap index rising 0.78 per cent, while the mid-cap index ended up 0.63 per cent.
 

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.43 per cent, Shanghai Composite up 0.39 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei edged up 0.03 per cent.
 

European markets, however, were down in early deals with Frankfurt’s DAX falling 0.05 per cent and Paris CAC 40 down 0.11 per cent. London’s FTSE, however, rose 0.08 per cent.