Bull run continues: Indices on longest weekly winning streak since 2009

Sensex, Nifty hit fresh all-time highs on Friday

Buoyed by global cues, the benchmark indices rose on Friday, marking their tenth successive week of gains, the longest such streak since June 2009. The benchmark Sensex gained 689 points, or 1.43 per cent, reaching a fresh record of 48,782 points, and the Nifty rose by 210 points to end the session at a record 14,347.

Optimism surrounding the roll out of vaccines and hopes of more stimulus in the United States of America aided the rally. Investors seems to have been enthused by the roll out of Covid-19 vaccination drive in India and the formal confirmation of Joe Biden as the US president, with the Democratic Party gaining a majority in the Senate, which stoked hopes of more stimulus from the US government.

Markets across the globe also rose ahead of a key job’s data report. Forecasts have shown a sharp fall in hiring in December, resulting in a stronger case for more stimulus.

“It is easier to push through stimulus with Democrats gaining control of the Senate. The stimulus could weaken the dollar, and the weak dollar is good for emerging markets,” said Jyotivardhan Jaipuria, founder of Valentis Advisors. 

US President Donald Trump’s statement on Thursday promising a smooth transition further boosted optimism, coming a day after his supporters ran riot in the Capitol building, the seat of the US government.

Investors are looking beyond rising coronavirus cases and political unrest in the US to focus on hopes for an economic recovery later in the year.

“The global markets were upbeat owing to the Democratic control of the US Senate and hopes of speedy economic rebound due to the vaccine, setting the trend for the domestic markets, which followed suit,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

The first advance estimate of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), which projected a contraction of 7.7 per cent in financial year 2020-21, was better than expectation and this added to investors’ optimism. It showed good recovery in some sectors in the second half of the financial year.

On Friday, 481 stocks hit their 52-week highs, and 473 were locked in the upper circuit on the BSE Sensex. The market breadth was positive with total advancing stocks at 1,734 and those declining at 1,388 on the Sensex. Four-fifths of Sensex components ended the session with gains.

IT stocks gained ahead of third quarter results of Tata Consultancy Services. Tech Mahindra rose 5.6 per cent to become the fifth Indian IT company to cross a market capitalisation of Rs 1 trillion, while Infosys rose 3.95 per cent. Maruti was the best-performing Sensex stock, ending the session with a gain of 5.9 per cent.

“Besides earnings, global cues and updates on vaccine drive will also remain in focus. At present, the rotational buying across sectors helps the index inch higher and suggests aligning positions according to the trend. However, traders should avoid going overboard and keep a check on leveraged positions,” said Ajit Mishra, vice-president of research at Religare Broking. Barring two, all the BSE sectoral indices ended the session with gains.