Sensex, Nifty end at fresh record highs; PSU firms top gainers

NEW DELHI: Rally on Dalal Street continued unabated on Monday. Benchmark equity indices ended at fresh record high on Monday as Brexit negotiators vowed to work towards a deal and the US started vaccination campaign.

The most dominant force behind the rally has been massive fund flows from foreign investors who have poured over Rs 90,000 crore in the last 45 days, as per NSDL data. Any pause in the trend may have an adverse effect.

The 30-share pack Sensex gained 154.45 points or 0.34 per cent to 46.235.46. From its day’s low, the index climbed 300 points. Its broader peer NSE Nifty advanced 44.30 points or 0.33 per cent to 13,558.15.

"Market is continuing its bull run with a sustained interest in PSU banks and small & mid-cap stocks. Industrial output data shows a growth in consumer durables production surpassing the pre-Covid level and strong pickup in electricity and manufacturing sectors,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market at a glance:

• Burger King hits upper circuit; stock surges 131% over issue price
• PSU firms top gainers in Nifty; ONGC climbs 6%
• Cipla rises 4% after the company settles gRevlimid case
• Auto names see profit booking; Eicher, Hero Moto down over 2%
• 300 stocks hit 52-week highs: Kotak Bank, Nestle, SAIL, Titan, Tata Steel, Marico top names

Among the bluechip names, ONGC was the top gainer that rose 5.94 per cent to Rs 102.55. L&T, Cipla, Coal India, Indian Oil, NTPC, ICICI Bank and BPCL were other gainers that rose 2-5 per cent.
Eicher Motors was the biggest loser in Nifty index, dropping 2.52 per cent to Rs 2,408.60. Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Life Insurance, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Auto were other losers from the pack.

Broader market indices also gained and outperformed their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap added 0.82 per cent and Nifty Midcap climbed 0.66 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, advanced 0.39 per cent.

Cyient, Delta Corp, DCB Bank, Oil India, Bata India and City Union Bank were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, rising in the range of 6-9 per cent.

YES Bank, Crompton Greaves Consumer, Escorts, Welspun Corp, SpiceJet and Persistent Systems were leading losers from the broader market space, declining in the range of 2-5 per cent.

Sectorally, there were two losers. Nifty Auto slipped 1.04 per cent and Nifty Realty dipped 0.89 per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Media, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal were the biggest gainers, rising 1-2 per cent.

Market breadth was in favour of gainers as 1,921 stocks ended in the green, while 1,117 names settled with cuts. As many as 301 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 49 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 535 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 191 lower circuit limits.

European shares were also in good demand. FTSE added 0.31 per cent while markets in France and Germany were trading with gains of over a per cent. In Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand ended in red while the red registered gains.

Let’s prepare for tomorrow:

• IPO Watch: Mrs Bectors Food IPO will open for subscription on Tuesday.
• US Fed meet: There could be some movement in currency markets ahead of the US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting starting on Tuesday, where policymakers are expected to increase purchases of longer-dated Treasuries to contain a rise in yields.
• Inflation data: India will release its wholesale and retail inflation data later in the day to which the market could react on Tuesday.