Indian shares touched fresh lifetime highs during the trading session on Wednesday and closed at new highs, in line with a rally in global equities.
Tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, TCS and Infosys amid persistent foreign fund inflows, Sensex ended 494 points higher at 46,103 and Nifty closed 136 points higher at 13,529. During the session, Sensex hit all-time high of 46,164 and Nifty too logged a record high of 13,548. HDFC Bank, RIL, Infosys, TCS, ITC, UPL, IOC, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank were among the top gainers today. On the other hand, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Maruti, SBI and Bajaj Auto were among the laggards.
Sensex touched 46K for the very first time and Nifty crossed 13,500 level today as the world's second-worst coronavirus-affected country considers approving vaccines for the public, raising bets of an economic recovery. The country's Union health secretary said on Tuesday the country may approve some coronavirus vaccines over the next few weeks and an estimated 300 million people would be inoculated in the first tranche.
Yesterday, backed by positive global cues, progress in COVID-19 vaccine, strong FIIs inflows and signs of economic recovery, Sensex ended 181 points higher at 45,608, Nifty closed 37 points higher at 13,392.
With today's rally, Sensex has gained 11.70% since the beginning of this year and Nifty has risen 10.90% during the same period. Sensex and Nifty have gained 8.18% and 8.38%, respectively in one month. Except for auto, metal, and PSU banks, all the other sector-based indices closed higher with 3.7% gain in media scrips, 1.55 gain in banking and realty stocks and 1.1.% rise in financials.
Overseas, Asian shares rose to a record high and U.S. stock futures gained on Wednesday as Pfizer started to roll out its coronavirus vaccine in the UK and as investors tracked the ongoing efforts in the US or additional fiscal stimulus.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe also hit a record high. Sentiments were further boosted after Japanese data pointed to a rebound in capital expenditure. In the US, stocks rose to fresh all-time highs on Tuesday, while European shares opened higher today.
Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said," Markets are largely mirroring global cues but the benchmark looks slightly overbought so the possibility of consolidation in the near term cannot be ruled out and it would be healthy for markets. We thus recommend booking partial profit in the existing trades and keep trailing stop losses on every rise. For fresh buying, investors should maintain extra caution on the selection of stocks and maintain "buy on dips" approach."
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial services said, "Market is effortlessly rallying to a new high on a daily basis, with all the sectors contributing in the bull run. The Indian rupee is strongly moving ahead against the USD, as the dollar is attracted to the domestic developments, providing an edge compared to other Asian peers. Small and Microcaps are hugely outperforming the market, and the euphoria is expected to stay in the short to medium-term. Hopes of vaccine and stimulus packages in India and developed nations are raising the spirit of equity market"
On markets closing --Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investment said,"We closed very close to the day's high which is a good sign. The Nifty has a strong bullish under current and every dip can be looked at as a buying opportunity. However, traders should be cautious as we are in a range of resistance which is between 13400 and 13700. We are now closer to the upper end of this range. A strong support lies at 13100."
Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited said," The market continues to witness strength and stayed above the nearest support level of the Nifty 50 Index level of 13480. While sustaining above 13480 is the key factor from a short-term perspective, our research suggests, maintaining above this level market to gain momentum and to increase the odds for a movement till 13630. The momentum indicators like RSI, MACD to stay positive and market breadth to improve, further strengthening the view of a short-term bullish outlook."
Stocks in news: ICICI Bank, TVS Srichakra, YES Bank, Indian Bank, Wipro, IRB Infra
YES Bank share rises 10% for second consecutive session, here's why
Nifty, Sensex hit record highs due to Covid-19 vaccine progress