MUMBAI: The foreign fund flow-led upsurge in the Indian market continued in the new year as the sensex on Monday surpassed the 48,000-mark for the first time in its history and closed at 48,177 points, also its all-time high closing level. It was up 308 points on the day. It was the seventh consecutive session that the sensex closed at a new high level, the longest such run in its over four-decade history.
The news about Indian government approving the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines also enthused investors on Dalal Street, market players said. In addition, a record high monthly GST collection—at Rs 1.15 lakh crore for December—that came in on Friday, also added to the positive sentiment in the market.
On the NSE, the nifty further consolidated its position above the 14K mark and closed at 14,133, up 114 points.
End-of-the-session data on BSE showed a net inflow of Rs 1,843 crore by foreign portfolio investors on Monday.
This high inflow figure came in despite most foreign fund managers being on holiday for Christmas and New Year, dealers said.
The day’s rally in the broader market also made investors richer by Rs 2.4 lakh crore with BSE’s market capitalisation currently at Rs 191.6 lakh crore. The day’s session also recorded the highest close for the midcap index in the last three years. IT and metal stocks also showed smart gains on Monday.
“Emboldened by the likely rollout of the vaccine this month, bulls went berserk, bolstered by IT and metal stocks with able support from pharma stocks. PMI data and renewed buying in select financials provided buoyancy across the broader markets,” S Ranganathan, head of research at LKP Securities, wrote in a note.
Among the sensex constituents, TCS, Infosys and HUL contributed the most to the day’s gains while selling in Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance contained the upside to some extent.
Market players said that once vaccines are rolled out, and healthcare and frontline workers are inoculated, the businesses are expected to open up more and the economy could stabilize further. In the shorter run, the start of the results season from the second week of the month would also dictate the market’s movement, they said.
Technically too the indices look set for further gains. According to Nagaraj Shetti, technical research analyst, HDFC Securities, the short term trend of the nifty continues to be positive. “The short term upside targets to be watched at 14,350 points and immediate support is placed at 14,060.”
