Nifty soars to fresh peak on recovery hopes
Rises in 7th consecutive session; RIL, banks lend support
Sensex falls over 475 points but few stocks gain over 10% on BSE
Mumbai The NSE Nifty defied gravity for the seventh straight session to close at its fresh lifetime high on Monday as a steady decline in daily Covid-19 cases bolstered investor sentiment amid mixed global cues.
Market heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and ICIC Bank witnessed robust buying ahead of GDP data. Rising for the fourth day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 514.56 points or 1.00 per cent higher at 51,937.44 — around 200 points shy of its closing record hit on February 15 this year. The broader NSE Nifty surged 147.15 points or 0.95 per cent to 15,582.80, closing at a record high for the third consecutive session. Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 3.13 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's, Maruti, ITC, NTPC and Axis Bank. On the other hand, M&M, Infosys, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra and Sun Pharma were among the laggards, skidding up to 4.53 per cent. "Amidst mixed global trends, Indian equities registered gains ahead of Q4 GDP data which has a mixed forecast. But it is expected to be better for FY22 and increased optimism from declining Covid cases is helping the market. The rise in heavyweights supported the rally and sectors like metal, private banks and energy witnessed maximum gains in anticipation of better economic growth," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
India reported the lowest daily new coronavirus infections in 50 days with 1,52,734 cases, taking the tally to 2,80,47,534 on Monday, while the active caseload declined to 20,26,092, the Health Ministry said. "After opening marginally in red, the benchmark drifted marginally lower in the early trades, but healthy buying interest in select heavyweights triggered sharp recovery as the day progressed. Meanwhile, the last leg of earnings season is also expected to induce stock-specific volatility. Some states have announced relaxation in restrictions and we expect further easing in the coming weeks," said Ajit Mishra, V-P (research) at Religare Broking.
