Benchmark indices closed higher on Wednesday led by gains in index heavyweights such as Infosys, HDFC and TCS amid a largely positive trend in Asian markets. Sensex ended 379 points higher at 51,017 and Nifty surged 93 points to 15,301. Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping nearly 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Infosys, M&M, Maruti and HDFC.
Top Sensex losers were PowerGrid, NTPC, ONGC and Kotak Bank falling up to 3.11% on BSE. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 22 closed in green. Market cap on BSE hit a record high of Rs 219.93 lakh crore today.
Market breadth was positive with 1,950 shares rising against 1,185 falling on BSE. 146 shares were unchanged. Ruchit Jain, Senior Analyst - Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking said,
"We expect Nifty to continue its march higher towards our 14335 (which is almost there), followed by new highs very soon. With this gradual advance, the supports are shifting higher and now the immediate supports are placed around 15,235 and 15,163. Hence, we continue with our advice for traders to continue with a positive bias and look for buying opportunities on intraday declines."
Daily COVID-19 infections in India dipped to 2,08,921 in 24 hours, the lowest in 40 days, pushing the total tally of coronavirus cases to 2,71,57,795, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The fall in Covid-19 cases led to positive sentiment on Dalal Street today. BSE midcap and small cap indices fell 30 points and rose 160 points, respectively.
Sector-wise, IT stocks were the top gainers with BSE IT index rising 497 points and BSE auto index gaining 111 points. On the other hand, BSE metal index slipped 452 points to 18,239.
Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities said, "The short-term trend of Nifty continues to be positive amid a range movement. Now, the market is placed at the crucial juncture of overhead resistance around 15350-15450 levels. If Nifty sustains around this highs for the next couple of sessions, then that could open doors for an upper target of 15800 levels. Any profit booking from the hurdles could be a buy on dips opportunity for short term. Immediate support is placed at 15200-15150 levels."