Sensex rises over 500 points to touch new record, Nifty reaches fresh all-time high led by financial stocks

Share market today: So far in intraday trade, the S&P BSE Sensex had risen to an all-time high of 52,141.67 while the Nifty 50 touched a lifetime high of 15,321.30. At 10:58 am, the Sensex was trading at 52,117.10, rising 572.80 points (1.11 per cent) while the broader Nifty was up 149.60 points (0.99 per cent) at 15,312.90.

The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading over 1 per cent higher in the morning trade led by a rise in financial stocks and broad-based gains across sectors, as upbeat corporate earnings raised hopes of a faster economic recovery. A buoyant global market also aided investor sentiment.

So far in intraday trade, the S&P BSE Sensex had risen to an all-time high of 52,141.67 while the Nifty 50 touched a lifetime high of 15,321.30. At 10:58 am, the Sensex was trading at 52,117.10, rising 572.80 points (1.11 per cent) while the broader Nifty was up 149.60 points (0.99 per cent) at 15,312.90.

Gains in the BSE benchmark were led by Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. On the other hand, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories along with IT majors – Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards.

Among the sectoral indices on NSE, the key Nifty Bank index was trading over 1.5 per cent higher at over 36,750 levels led by a rise in the share prices of RBL Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. The Nifty Financial Services index was up nearly 2 per cent aided by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services and Shriram Transport Finance Company.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index was trading at 20,171.91, up 260.88 points (1.31 per cent). Here, Cholamandalam Finance, M&M Financial were the top gainers of the index. Likewise, the S&P BSE SmallCap was at 19,769.63, up 147.58 points (0.75 per cent). JSW Holdings and Clariant Chemicals (India) were the top gainers in the smallcap index in the morning trade.

On the economic front, according to data released Friday evening, India’s retail inflation stayed within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) target range for the second straight month in January 2021. The CPI for January was reported at 4.06 per cent, within the central bank’s upper margin of 6 per cent.

Global market

Asian shares started the week off with a rally, as Japan’s Nikkei 225 index briefly topped 30,000 for the first time since August 1990.

As of midday the Nikkei had fallen back below that level but was still up 1.3 per cent, at 29,914.02. Shares also rose in India, South Korea and Australia. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed for the Lunar New Year.

The strong buying in Tokyo was driven by news that the Japanese economy grew at a nearly 13 per cent annual pace in the last quarter, and by strong corporate earnings reports. It was the second straight quarter of growth after a downturn drastically worsened by the impact of the pandemic.

–global market input from AP

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