Investors wealthier by Rs 3.5 lakh crore as belligerent bulls help Sensex reclaim Mount 50K

NEW DELHI: Benchmark indices registered strong gains for a second straight day as Dalal Street bulls bought whatever they could in Tuesday's session, defying the resurgence in Covid-19 infections.

Analysts said some buying was led by mutual fund money managers, who were deploying leftover cash before the end of the current fiscal year. Equity investors grew wealthier by Rs 3.54 lakh crore as the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies climbed to Rs 204.81 lakh crore.

The 30-share pack Sensex gained 1,128.08 points or 2.30 per cent to close at 50,136.58. Its broader peer NSE Nifty added 337.80 points or 2.33 per cent to settle at 14,845.10.


“Beating worries of increasing Covid-19 cases and rising bond yields, the domestic market sparked a rally today as investors turned their focus to economic recovery supported by the vaccination drive. Positive openings seen in Asian and European markets also helped in boosting optimism in the Indian market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market at a glance

• Nazara Tech drops 20% after listing at 81% premium over issue price
• Steel stocks rise as companies set to hike prices again
• Realty stocks remain under pressure; Nifty Realty sole sectoral loser on NSE
• WABCO India gains 1% tracking higher bidders during auction
• Buying in IT stocks ahead of onset of Q4 earnings season

Among the blue chip stocks, UPL was the top gainer for another day, rising 7.59 per cent on Tuesday. JSW Steel, Shree Cement, Tata Steel, Wipro, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, Infosys and NTPC were other gainers.

Hindalco was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 0.32 per cent. Axis Bank, M&M and Bharti Airtel were other counters that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended with gains, but underperformed their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap added 1.26 per cent and Nifty Midcap rose 1.70 per cent. Nifty 500 -- the broadest index on NSE -- advanced 1.97 per cent.

Mphasis, V-Guard, Mindtree, Ircon International, Amber Enterprises and Wockhardt Pharma were top gainers from the mid- and small-cap indices, climbing in the range of 6-9 per cent.

Needless to say, the recent deterioration of the Covid-19 situation has dented sentiment and will be closely watched in the coming sessions. We thus reiterate our cautious stance until we see some decisiveness.

-Ajit Mishra, Religare Broking

Sunteck Realty, Delta Corp, Inox Leisure, Edelweiss Financial Services, Future Retail and M&M Financial Services were major losers from the broader market space, falling in the range of 3-6 per cent.

Barring Nifty Realty, which skidded 0.03 per cent, all sectoral indices on NSE closed with gains. Nifty IT was the top gainer, up 2.9 per cent, followed by Nifty Metal, Nifty Pharma, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Financial Service, which rose over 2 per cent each.

Overall market breadth was in favour of gainers, as 1,551 stocks ended in the green while 1,402 settled with cuts. As many as 146 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the small-cap space. Meanwhile, 71 stocks hit 52-week lows, mostly from the micro-cap space. About 250 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 332 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading higher at the last count. London-based FTSE was up 0.47 per cent, while Paris and Frankfurt advanced 0.72 per cent and 0.72 per cent, respectively. In Asia, except Indonesia, which dropped 1.55 per cent, all markets ended in the green.