Sensex, Nifty at record high amid global rally

Mumbai, January 20

Equity benchmarks galloped to lifetime highs on Wednesday, in lockstep with global markets which surged ahead of US President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration amid expectations of fresh stimulus by the incoming administration.

Rallying for the second straight day, the Sensex advanced by 393.83 points to close at its fresh record of 49,792.12. The NSE Nifty jumped 123.55 points to settle at a lifetime high of 14,644.70.

World stocks advanced on Wednesday after US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen called for a hefty stimulus to protect the US economy.

Biden, who will be sworn into office on Wednesday, has laid out a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal to boost the economy.

Among Sensex stocks, Maruti rose the most by 2.75%, followed by Tech Mahindra (2.67%), Mahindra & Mahindra (1.98%) and Asian Paints (1.98%).

Heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC and TCS accounted for the lion’s share of the gains. Among losers, Power Grid dropped 1.75%, NTPC 1.35%, HDFC Bank 0.83% and ITC 0.59%.

“An optimistic western market aided the Indian market to touch lifetime highs with new buying in segments like auto, IT and PSU Bank. So far, the Q3 results are better than forecasted and this has led to continued buying across sectors.

“Ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration as President, the US market is on an upbeat mood with high expectations of a big US stimulus,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. — PTI