Top factors that will shape trajectory of Indian markets in 2021

The top three Covid-19 vaccines that are currently awaiting the government's approval in India are: Pfizer and BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin

Calendar year 2020 (CY20) was a 'best of times, worst of times' moment for the Indian stock markets, during which the benchmark indices plunged to multi-year lows in March after the number of Covid-19 cases worldwide exploded and the Indian government subsequently implemented a nationwide lockdown, only to then roar back and hit fresh record lifetime highs near the year-end.

On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, till December 21, 2020, the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 have gained 13.4 per cent per cent and 12.8 per cent, respectively. The one-sided rally since March has pushed the 12-month forward price-to-earnings (P/E)