Sensex scales fresh peak; Nifty ends above 16,550
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty raced to new peaks on Monday on account of healthy buying in heavyweights Reliance and HDFC twins as well as IT and pharma shares. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex was quoted higher by 145.29 points or 0.26 percent at a new closing high of 55,582.58. It also hit a record intra-day high of 55,680.75.
Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 33.95 points or 0.21 percent to mark a fresh closing high of 16,563.05. During the day, it rose to a new intra-day peak of 16,589.40. Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying nearly four percent, followed by Bajaj Finance, M&M, and Reliance Industries. Maruti, Bajaj Auto, PowerGrid, and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.
Markets traded lackluster and ended marginally higher: Expert
Sectorally, BSE metal, energy, oil and gas, FMCG, and finance indices rose up to 1.79 percent, while telecom, auto, capital goods, and power indices fell up to 0.99 percent. Broader midcap and smallcap indices underperformed the benchmark, shedding up to 0.57 percent. "Markets traded lackluster and ended marginally higher, in absence of any major trigger," Ajit Mishra, VP Research, Religare Broking, said.
Broader market indices ended lower in range of 0.3-0.8 percent
"The tone was muted in the beginning. However, healthy buying in select heavyweights like Reliance combined with stocks from the metal and financials space aided the index to inch higher as the session progressed," he said. The broader market indices continued their underperformance and ended lower in a range of 0.3-0.8 percent, he added.
Performance of the global indices may induce further volatility: Expert
"As the results season is largely behind us, domestic factors viz. updates on further unlocking and pace of vaccination will remain in focus," Mishra added. Meanwhile, the performance of the global indices may induce further volatility. Since we're seeing limited participation, traders should focus on sectors that are trading in sync with the benchmark and wisely choose the stocks, he said.
Brent crude trading at $69.65 per barrel
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul ended with losses, while Shanghai was positive. Equities in Europe were also trading on a negative note in mid-session deals. Forex and money markets were closed on Monday on account of Parsi New Year. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.33 percent to $69.65 per barrel.
