Nifty makes new record, Sensex near fresh peak; RIL rises over 3%

The benchmark Nifty closed at a new record high for a third day, while the Sensex closed in on a fresh peak amid optimism surrounding the decline in Covid cases. Sharp gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries for the second day in a row pushed the markets higher.

The benchmark Sensex ended the session at 51,937, a gain of 514 points or 1 per cent. The index is currently 217 points or 0.42 per cent below its previous closing high of 52,154, made on February 15.

The Nifty, on the other hand, rose 147 points and ended the session at 15,583, a gain of 0.9 per cent.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,744 stocks adva­ncing against 1,492 stocks declining on the BSE. As many as 334 stocks hit their 52-week high, and 466 hit the upper circuit.

Reliance Industries was the best-performing index stock and ended the session 3.1 per cent higher. ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Dr Reddy's rose 2.9 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 2.08 per cent, respectively. Barring two, all the sectoral 

indices ended the session with gains. Energy and metal stocks rose the most and ended the session 2.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively.

India, on Monday, reported over 152,734 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, the smallest spike in daily infections since April first week. More than 400,000 daily cases were reported at the start of the month. Several states, including Maharashtra, announced slight relaxation in lockdowns, even as many extended curfew measures.

“The overall structure of the market remains positive as fresh Covid cases continue to decline and investors are upbeat about unlocking of the economy in June which will help revive commercial activities. Hopes of further stimulus by the government is also bolstering investor confidence. On the other hand, India’s pace of vaccination has picked up over the past few days. Thus, as the second Covid-19 wave continues to recede in India and the pace of vaccination picks up, we expect the long-term fundamentals to remain intact. The market will react to the GDP and fiscal deficit data which is slightly ahead of expectations,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head-retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The GDP data released on Monday showed that the Indian economy in FY 21 contracted 7.3 per cent -- the first annual contraction since 1980-81. The NSO data showed that in the fourth quarter of FY21, GDP grew 1.6 per cent.

Analysts said the impact of the second wave would be less severe than the first. Global ratings agency Fitch in a note said the impact of the second Covid-19 wave on rated Indian firms is expected to be manageable.

“The markets will react to the GDP data in early trade on Tuesday. Besides, participants will keep a close watch on auto sales figures. Meanwhile, the last leg of earnings season is also expected to induce stock-specific volatility. Some states have announced relaxation in restrictions, and we expect further easing in the coming weeks. Amid all this, we reiterate our bullish yet cautious stance on markets and suggest aligning the positions according to the prevailing uptrend," said Ajit Mishra, V-P-research, Religare Broking.