Indian markets ignored the potential fallout of India-China tensions and rising number of virus infections to close well above its 100-DMA

Extending the bull run from the previous session, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 settled higher on Friday, led by Reliance Industries which hit a fresh all-time high after it announced to become net debt-free firm. The 30-share Sensex jumped 523 points or 1.53 per cent to close the session at 34,732, while the broader Nifty 50 index advanced 153 points or 1.51 per cent to settle at 10,244. Along with RIL, index heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki were the top index contributors today. “Indian markets ignored the potential fallout of India-China tensions and rising number of virus infections to close well above its 100-DMA. The gains were led by Reliance Industries, which alone contributed half of the gains for Nifty,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

RIL shares hit all-time high: In the intraday deals Reliance Industries share price jumped 8 per cent to hit a fresh high of Rs 1,788.60 taking the market capitalisation above Rs 11 lakh crore. After raising investments from 11 investors in Ji0 Platforms, RIL announced that it has become net debt-free much much its deadline of March 2021. “We believe that the digital and retail business will be key growth drivers for the company going forward and the proposed listing of the retail business over the next few years is along expected lines and will lead to a rerating for the company. We also expect a similar move by the company for its digital business in the future,” Jyoti Roy, DVP Equity Strategist, Angel Broking Ltd.

Top BSE Sensex gainers: Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Power Grid Corporation of India, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Axis Bank. On the flip side, IndusInd Bank was the top Sensex laggard, followed by HCL Tech, ITC, M&M, HDFC, Infosys and Nestle India.

Nifty Realty rallies over 6%: Barring Nifty IT and Nifty Metal, all the sectoral indices settled in the positive territory. Nifty Realty index jumped 6.4 per cent led by gains in DLF, Godrej Properties and The Phenix Mills. Nifty PSU Bank gained 2.23 per cent and Nifty Bank index ended 1.82 per cent higher.

Market outlook: Given that there are no major scheduled events both locally as well as globally, indices are expected to consolidate and move sideways, says Jimeet Modi, Founder & CEO, SAMCO Securities & StockNote. “Across the world, markets are trying to decode how the easing of lockdown restrictions will help revive economic demand. Prices are expected to just drag around for some time till clarity in the real economy emerges. Currently, investors are advised to stay away from investing or at best cherry-pick frontline stocks in private sector banks, autos as well as metals in small quantities,” said Jimeet Modi.