Sensex ends 308 pts up at 48,177, Nifty at 14,133; Nifty metal surges 5%

S&P BSE MidCap index touched record high in the intra-day trade of 18,435. On the sectoral front, Nifty IT index closed at record high

The Indian government's decision to approve two vaccines -- Serum Institute of India's Covidshield, and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin -- for restricted use in an emergency situation pushed indices to record high levels yet again on Monday. Moreover, manufactruing PMI, that remained in the expansion zone for fifth straight month and stood at 56.4 in December, also let loose bulls on D-Street.

Extending the bull-run into tenth week, the benchmarks ended tad-bit lower than record highs but at fresh closing peaks nonetheless. The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day 308 points, or 0.6 per cent, higher at 48,177 levels on the BSE, after hittig fresh liftime peak of 48,220.4 in the intra-day deals. Its NSE counterpart, Nifty50, ended above the 14,100-mark for the first time, at 14,133 levels, up 114 points or 0.8 per cent. In the intra-day trade, the index hit a record peak of 14,148.

Tech stocks such as TCS, HCL Tech, and Infosys (up between 2 per cent and 4 per cent) settled the day as top gainers on the Sensex while steel stocks including Tata Steel and Hindalco (up over 8 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively) were the top performers on the Nifty. At the lower end of the spectrum, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, and Hero MotoCorp were the top losers.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal index jumped 5 per cent on the NSE today after global brokerage Jefferies said benign monetary policies, and potential stimulus measures provide strong backup to the metal sector. It also said that Indian metals should deliver a strong earnings rebound in FY22. Among individual stocks, Tata Steel, SAIL, Hindalco, and JSPL ended the day up to 7 per cent higher.

On the downside, Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank, and Nifty Financial Services indices ended the day in the red.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index hit a record high of 18,435.14 in intra-day session today, surpassing previous high of 18,321, touched on January 9, 2018. It ended 1.4 per cent higher at 18,421.5 level. The S&P BSE SmallCap index, on the other hand, ended 1.37 per cent higher at 18,511 level.

Global markets

World stock markets hit record highs on Monday, the first trading day of the new year, as investors hoped the rollout of vaccines would ultimately lift a global economy decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

European stocks opened higher, with Britain's FTSE 100 gaining 1.75 per cent, Germany's DAX up 1.1 per cent, Spain's IBEX up 1.3 per cent and Italy's FTSE MIB rising 0.7 per cent. MSCI's All-Country World Index, which tracks stocks across 49 countries, hit a record high and was up nearly half a per cent.

Asian stock markets also gained, although Japan's Nikkei 225 index shed early gains, falling 0.4 per cent after the government said it was considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures amid coronavirus concerns.

(With inputs from Reuters)

3:55 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Naveen Kulkarni, Chief Investment Officer, Axis Securities

Today, the Indian market tested a fresh high of 48,000 at Sensex, amidst a positive development on the vaccination front. Overall, the investor sentiments have been lifted after the emergency approval given by DCGI on two Coronavirus vaccines: Covishield & Covaxin. A strong December closing has laid the platform for a solid 2021. We continue to believe that 2021 will be the year of mid and small caps. 2021 is likely to outperform, similar to 2020 . Our core themes -  digital, telecom, pharma, rural, staples and consumer discretionary, continue to remain relevant in 2021. Pharma & IT were the top performing sectors of 2020, while Banks were negative. Automobiles and metals delivered positive returns in 2020 after a challenging 2019. We believe that 'Growth and Quality' are likely to be the themes for 2021. The focus will be on the BFSI sector and management commentary on the stress challenges. Apart from the Q3 earnings, the Union Budget will be an important event. The finance minister has promised a solid budget, and this will be critical for manufacturing, pharma and infrastructure sectors.  IT and Consumer will report good numbers

3:50 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi Shares

Indian markets opened on a positive note following upbeat Asian market peers as South Korean and China’s stocks surge in first trading day of 2021 after private survey showed Chinese manufacturing activity expanding in December. During the afternoon session markets slipped as some selling was witnessed in key frontline banking stocks. However, markets regained and further sthengthened as the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), released during the day  surged to 56.4 in December as against 56.3 in November. Also, the global cues from western markets helped in boosting the sentiments near closing session. On sectoral front, Metals, IT, Auto and Pharma led the markets while Bank stocks remained muted for the day

3:50 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Every dip is being considered by the traders as an opportunity to buy. Today morning’s volatility was brought, fueled by the early rollout of the vaccine in India and positive opening of the European market. The leader was IT stocks boosted by the hope of a strong quarterly result, which will start soon. The global market has kicked off the year on a positive note as investors across the globe are optimistic about economic recovery on the report over vaccine approval &  fiscal support

 

3:49 PM

Market stats :: BSE m-cap hits Rs 191.7-crore mark

3:47 PM

Broader markets :: S&P BSE MidCap up 1.4%

3:46 PM

Nifty IT index ends at record high

3:44 PM

All 15 constituents end in the green; Tata Steel jumps over 8%

3:42 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE :: Nifty metal outperforms benchmarks

3:41 PM

Sensex Heatmap :: Financials cap gains

3:40 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day 308 points, or 0.6 per cent, higher at 48,177 levels on the BSE, after hittig fresh liftime peak of 48,220.4 in the intra-day deals. Its NSE counterpart, Nifty50, ended above the 14,100-mark for the first time, at 14,133 levels, up 114 points or 0.8 per cent. In the intra-day trade, the index hit a record peak of 14,148.

3:30 PM

Puravankara surges 8%

3:24 PM

Tata Motors partners with Karnataka Bank for retail finance support

Tata Motors has signed a memorandum of understanding with Karnataka Bank to introduce financing offers for customers.

 

Customers can avail a variety of schemes on their future vehicle purchase available across 857 branches of Karnataka Bank which include 199 semi-urban and 67 rural branches. READ MORE

3:15 PM

Corporate Action :: HDFC Board to meet on Feb 2 to consider fund raise via NCDs

>> the Board of Directors of the Corporation would consider the issuance of secured/unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures, in various tranches

under a Shelf Disclosure Document, aggregating around Rs 45,000 crore on a private placement basis.

>> It will also consider and approve Q3FY21 results.

3:10 PM

MARKET CHECK :: Sensex leaps 300 pts, hits record high of 48,194

2:55 PM

Alkyl Amines Chemicals advances 7% on stock split, expansion plan

Shares of Alkyl Amines Chemicals moved higher by 7 per cent to Rs 4,141 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday after the company announced stock split and expansion plans. The stock of the specialty chemical firm was trading close to its record high of Rs 4,162 touched on December 2, 2020. "The board of directors of the company are scheduled to meet on February 2 to consider the proposal of sub-division of equity shares of the company from the face value of Rs 5 to a lower denomination. The board will also consider the proposal for setting up of new project(s) including Amines," it said in a BSE filing. READ MORE