Sensex gains 380 pts, breaches 51K mark; Nifty closes at 15,300
The 30-share BSE index ended 0.75% higher, while the NSE Nifty surged 0.17%
MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 380 points on Wednesday, led by gains in index majors Infosys, HDFC and TCS amid a largely positive trend in Asian markets.
The 30-share BSE index ended 379.99 points or 0.75% higher at 51,017.52, and the broader NSE Nifty surged 93 points or 0.17% to 15,301.45.
The gauge had closed at an all-time high of 15,314.70 on February 15. It is up 9.4% so far in 2021, outperforming the MSCI Asia Pacific Index by about six percentage points.
Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping nearly 5%, followed by Bajaj Finance, Infosys, M&M, Maruti and HDFC.
On the other hand, Powergrid, NTPC, ONGC and Kotak Bank were among the laggards.
“Domestic equities remained upbeat as improved visibility about economic recovery from the second quarter of FY22 continued to lift investors’ sentiments,” said Binod Modi, Head—strategy at Reliance Securities.
Barring metals, most key sectoral indices traded in green. IT stocks witnessed sharp rebound after positive commentary of select managements about strong execution delivery despite the second wave of pandemic, he added.
The milestone comes as India is attracting all the global attention for the virus disaster. Money managers are counting on a consumption-led economic rebound and the nation’s long-term growth prospects to support corporate earnings and equity valuations.
“We are in the middle of an equities cycle that is fueled by liquidity the global central banks have been infusing,” said Amit Jain, chief strategist at Ashika Group in Kolkata. “There is still room for this rally,” he said, adding that the Nifty index could touch 17,000 this year.
Investor sentiment also improved after a report said the Indian economy is likely to have grown 0.6% to 2.1% in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2020-21, compared with the government’s prediction of a contraction.
However, for the entire FY21, gross domestic product is expected to contract 7% to 8%, the report added, citing independent economists and rating agencies.
In recent days, the slowing pace of new infections in India has boosted hopes of a gradual resumption of business activities curtailed by localized lockdowns. Daily cases have halved from a peak of more than 400,000 earlier this month.
Several states are starting to announce a slow rollback of restrictions as caseloads fall, suggesting the peak hit to economic activity will be seen in May, with conditions improving in June, Nomura Holdings Inc. analysts Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi said.
“We remain positive on India’s business cycle and expect GDP growth of 9.8% in 2021,” they wrote.
“Our analysis of international evidence suggests that the hit to economic activity will be significantly less than what the drop in mobility suggests.”
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended on a positive note, while Seoul was in the red. Equities in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading flat at $68.50 per barrel..