Sensex crosses 52K for the first time; Nifty tops 15,300
Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 610 points to finish above the 52,000-mark for the first time on Monday, tracking significant gains in financial stocks. After touching a record high of 52,235.97 during the day, the 30-share BSE index ended 609.83 points up at 52,154.13. NSE Nifty soared 151.40 points to finish at a record high of 15,314.70. It touched an intra-day peak of 15,340.15.
Top winners and losers
Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing around 6 percent, followed by ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, SBI, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, and Kotak Bank. On the other hand, Dr. Reddy's TCS, Tech Mahindra, HUL, and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
Indian stock market followed Asian peers
"Indian market opened on a positive, following peer in Asia as Nikkei 225 crossed 30,000 with Japan's economy growing 12.7 percent on an annualized basis from October to December last year," said Narendra Solanki, Head of Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi. "During the afternoon session, markets continued to trade higher as CPI data released during the weekend added to the positive sentiments," he added.
Brent crude trading at $63.24 per barrel
Retail inflation during the month of December 2020 was at 4.59 percent, the second consecutive month the CPI data has come within the Reserve Bank of India's upper margin of 6 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo and Seoul ended with strong gains. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.30 percent higher at $63.24 per barrel.
