NIFTY HITS RECORD HIGH; SENSEX NEARS FRESH PEAK
The Nifty closed at a record high for a third day, while the Sensex closed in on a fresh peak amid optimism surrounding the decline in Covid cases. Sharp gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries for the second day pushed the markets higher. The Sensex ended the session at 51,937, a gain of 514 points, or 1 per cent. The index is currently 217 points below its previous closing high of 52,154, made on February 15. The Nifty rose 147 points and ended the session at 15,583, a gain of 0.9 per cent.
The benchmark Nifty closed at a new record high for a third day, while the Sensex closed in on a fresh peak amid optimism surrounding the decline in Covid cases. Sharp gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries for the second day in a row pushed the markets higher.
The benchmark Sensex ended the session at 51,937, a gain of 514 points or 1 per cent. The index is currently 217 points or 0.42 per cent below its previous closing high of 52,154, made on February 15
The Nifty, on the other hand, rose 147 points and ended the session at 15,583, a gain of 0.9 per cent.
The market breadth was positive, with 1,744 stocks advancing against 1,492 stocks declining on the BSE. As many as 334 stocks hit their 52week high, and 466 hit the upper circuit.
Reliance Industries was the best-performing index stock and ended the session 3.1 per cent higher. ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Dr Reddy's rose 2.9 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 2.08 per cent, respectively. Barring two, all the sectoral indices ended the session with gains. Energy and metal stocks rose the most and ended the session 2.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively.
India, on Monday, reported over 152,734 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, the smallest spike in daily infections since April first week. More than 400,000 daily cases were reported at the start of the month. Several states, including Maharashtra, announced slight relaxation in lockdowns, even as many extended curfew measures.
“The overall structure of the market remains positive as fresh Covid cases continue to decline and investors are upbeat about unlocking of the economy in June which will help revive commercial activities. Hopes of further stimulus by the government is also bolstering investor confidence. On the other hand, India’s pace of vaccination has picked up over the past few days. Thus, as the second Covid-19 wave continues to recede in India and the pace of vaccination picks up, we expect the long-term fundamentals to remain intact. The market will react to the GDP and fiscal deficit data which is slightly ahead of expectations,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head-retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.