Markets on record highs even as NSE fiasco leaves investors flustered
The BSE Sensex surged by over 355 points to record a new closing high of 31,715.64 and NSE Nifty settled above the 9,700mark for the first time, even as technical glitches disrupted trade on NSE for hours, leaving investors flustered.
The finance ministry took note of it and sought a report from Sebi on the technical glitch in the NSE system that had led to trading disruptions.
People in the ministry with knowledge of the matter said Sebi is constantly monitoring the situation and this sort of problem is a serious concern for the ministry, hoping that such situations do not recur.
The 30-share BSE index resumed higher and remained in the positive terrain throughout the day and hit an all-time high of 31,768.39 (intra-day) before ending 355.01 points, or 1.13% higher, its biggest single session gain since May 25, at new record closing of 31,715.64, surpassing its previous record high of 31,369.34 hit on July 6.
It had also breached its intraday-high of 31,522.87 points reached on June 22. The 50-share NSE Nifty also rose 105.25 points, or 1.09%, to 9,771.05, its record closing high, breaching its previCoal ous record high of 9,675.10 recorded on June 5.
It also touched an all-time high of 9,782.20 (intra-day), surpassing 9,709.30 reached earlier on June 6.
Sustained buying by domestic institutional investors kept the momentum going in the markets on Monday amid optimism over the upcoming earnings season.
All eyes are now on TCS, which will be among the first lot to post its earnings numbers on July 13. The market rally was driven by strong buying in teck, IT, PSU and healthcare counters after participants widened their bets ahead of Q1 earnings.
“The first half of the day was a complete chaos as trading was halted in one of the major exchanges, NSE due to a technical glitch. The trading activity resumed higher in line with its peer exchange (BSE) and as a result, the Nifty registered yet another all-time high way above the 9,750 mark on a closing basis as well,” said Sameet Chavan, chief analyst (Technical and Derivatives), Angel Broking.
Bharti Airtel at 5.39% was the biggest Sensex gainer, followed by TCS at 4.66%, Wipro at 4.64%, India (3.25%) , Lupin (2.96%), Infosys (2.46%), Sun Pharma (2.42%), Tata Motors (2.28%), ONGC (1.97%) and SBI (1.91%).
Other Sensex components that also gained were L&T, Axis Bank, Adani ports, Asian Paint, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, Bajaj Auto and Cipla, gaining by up to 1.56%.
“Investors were hopeful ahead of the start of earnings season but, a technical glitch in the NSE impeded today’s trade. Market soared to an all-time high level after it resumed trading, but the technical difficulties persisted and it affected the volumes.
“Lack of clarity around today’s trade may keep the investors a bit cautious and lend some volatility to tomorrow’s trades, but they are likely to be put aside, as earnings and macro numbers flow in,” said Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.
Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth ₹720.08 crore, while foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth a net ₹522.08 crore on Friday, as per provisional data from stock exchanges.
In tandem with overall trends, the broader markets turned bullish as buying activity gathered momentum lifting the mid-cap index by 0.67% and small-cap by 0.43%.