After a volatile trading session, market indices reversed trend and closed at record highs on Thursday, tracking cues from mixed global equities. Sensex ended 91 points higher at 49,584 and Nifty gained 30 points to 14,595.
Yesterday, Sensex ended 24 points lower at 49,494 and Nifty closed 1 point higher at 14,564. In the last session, Sensex and Nifty hit new lifetime highs of 49,795 and 14,653, respectively.
As per traders, consistent foreign inflows along with better quarterly results are continuing to set the pace of the broad market. Meanwhile, December quarterly earnings announcements by Den Networks, HFCL, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, Tata Steel Long Products, Websol Energy System and Digicontent will also set the tone for the stock market tomorrow.
IndusInd Bank, ITC, L&T, TCS, Bajaj twins, HUL, RIL and Kotak Bank were among the gainers.
On the other hand, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints and UltraTech Cement were among the top losers on Sensex pack. Losses in metal, media, IT, bank and realty sectors were capped by gains in PSU banking, pharma, FMCG and auto sectors.
On the macro-economic front, wholesale price index-based inflation eased to 1.22 per cent in December on easing food prices, according to data released by the commerce and industry.
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading mixed on Thursday as investors await the release of Chinese trade data for December.
In the US, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed slightly higher on Wednesday, led by tech shares, as traders kept an eye on interest rates, the political uncertainty coming out of Washington and the ongoing pandemic.
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to release details on his economic plan on Thursday. Meanwhile, turmoil in Washington continues with the House on Wednesday impeaching U.S. President Donald Trump for inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol last week.
On thee currency front, Indian rupee, appreciated by 11 paise to end at 73.04 per dollar on Thursday, tracking gains in domestic equities, continued FPI inflows and weak American currency.
Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited- Investment Advisor said,"The market witnessed some swift recovery after the initial fall at the start. Market continues to show resilience to stay above 14600. A significant breakout above the levels of 14680 could result in improvement of market breadth and the market can rally till the levels of 14870. We retain our cautious stance and advise the traders to refrain from building a fresh buying position, until we see further improvement and breakout above 14680.
Keshav Lahoti-Associate Equity Analyst, Angel Broking said,"The Nifty opened in red on Thursday despite positive global cues and upbeat earnings from IT giants. Although, by the end of the day, Nifty closed up by 0.2%. Sectoral indices were mixed. Due to profit booking, despite IT companies reporting strong revenue growth and a jump in profits for the December quarter, beating street estimates closed marginally down by 0.1%. SAIL corrected by 10 percent after the government decided to sell upto 10% of equity of the company through an Offer for Sale. Global cues were supportive: Dow Futures and FTSE were up by 0.4% and 0.6% respectively, while Nasdaq Futures was flat. We believe now the market will focus on quarterly results and management commentary.
Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said,"Markets remained range-bound for yet another session and ended marginally higher. Initially, the profit-taking in the IT majors pushed the benchmark lower but buying in the select index majors especially from energy, capital goods and FMCG space gradually pared all the losses. Consequently, the Nifty index ended higher by 0.2% at 14,596 levels. On the sector front, all the other indices ended on a flat to positive note wherein Capital Goods, Oil & Gas and FMCG were the top gainers. We may see further consolidation in the index ahead and it would be healthy for markets. The recent rise in volatility on the stock-specific front is on expected lines and we expect this trend to continue during the earnings season. Participants should maintain extra caution in the selection of stocks now and focus more on risk management."
Stocks in news: Infosys, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Indian Bank, SAIL, NHPC
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