Sensex rallies 300 pts to hit fresh high in early trade; Nifty tops 13,450

PTI, Dec 9, 2020, 10:01 AM IST

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex surged 300 points to touch its fresh lifetime peak in early trade on Wednesday tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, TCS and Infosys amid persistent foreign fund inflow and positive cues from global markets.

After touching a record intra-day high of 45,908.08, the 30-share BSE index was trading 285.62 points or 0.63 per cent higher at 45,894.13.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 78.25 points or 0.58 per cent to 13,471.20. It touched its lifetime intra-day peak of 13,475.05 in early trade.

ITC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by ONGC, TCS, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finserv and NTPC.

On the other hand, UltraTech Cement and Maruti were the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex climbed 181.54 points or 0.40 per cent to finish at its fresh lifetime high of 45,608.51, while Nifty rose 37.20 points or 0.28 per cent to 13,392.95 — its new closing record.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,909.60 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, said domestic markets saw a gap-up opening on Wednesday taking cues from positive global markets.

“Persistent FPI flow remains a dominant factor for the markets. Given strong visibility of sustained earnings growth in 2HFY21 led by continued traction in business activities for many sectors, markets are likely to remain buoyant.

“However, high valuations of markets will continue to pose a risk. We believe midcap and small cap stock may continue to see traction in the near term,” he said.

US equities finished higher with key indices recording new highs mainly on satisfactory progress on vaccine approvals and distribution, he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.51 per cent lower at USD 48.59 per barrel.