Benchmarks rally to record highs; Nifty closes above 13k for first time

Mumbai, November 24

Indian equity indices conquered new peaks on Tuesday, with the Nifty closing above the 13,000-level for the first time, as banking, FMCG and auto stocks saw heavy buying amid optimism over COVID-19 vaccine progress and unabated foreign capital inflows.

A strengthening rupee further boosted investor confidence, traders said.

After scaling a lifetime intra-day high of 44,601.63, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 445.87 points or 1.01 per cent higher at a record 44,523.02.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 128.70 points or 1 per cent to close at 13,055.15.

Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 4.02 per cent, followed by M&M, HDFC Bank, ITC, SBI, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Kotak Bank and Sun Pharma.

On the other hand, HDFC, Titan, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, ONGC and Infosys were among the main laggards, shedding up to 1.47 per cent.

Global markets maintained their upward trajectory as investors wagered on swift rollout of COVID-19 vaccines following encouraging trials data from at least three companies.

"Market is inching higher with more confidence that COVID-19 vaccine will be available in India soon. It can provide an advantage to India compared to the rest of the world. While, foreign inflows have already broken to a new high on a monthly basis, due to risk on strategy on healthier emerging markets like India.

"Recently broad market, including mid and small caps, have started to perform better which may continue in the short-term as large caps look expensive post the solid rally from COVID low," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Barring telecom, all BSE sectoral indices ended in the green, led by bankex (2.37 per cent), auto (1.84 per cent), realty (1.78 per cent) and metal (1.37 per cent).

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,738.44 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

The rupee appreciated 10 paise to close at 74.01 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with significant gains, while Shanghai closed in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in early deals.

Meanwhile, Brent Crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.85 per cent to USD 46.45 per barrel. PTI