Financial, IT stocks give Sensex 272-pt lift as bulls rule Street for second day

NEW DELHI: Domestic equity benchmarks rose for a second straight day on Thursday led by IT and financial stocks amid hopes of a faster recovery after greater access to vaccines as the US decided to waive Covid-19 intellectual property rights.

Vaccinations are likely to pick up now even as India continues to report a record number of daily cases and a positive global market is aiding the domestic market to ride a positive wave, say analysts.

The 30-share pack Sensex rose 272.21 points or 0.56 per cent to close at 48,949.76. The index traded in the range of nearly 400 points during the day. Its broader peer NSE Nifty advanced 106.95 points or 0.73 per cent to settle at 14,724.80.


“Biden’s decision to waive intellectual property rights on vaccines pumped in global optimism. Metal stocks continued to outshine other sectors as it kick-started its earning season on a better-than-expected note. Auto and IT were the other sectoral leaders while mid- and small-cap stocks mirrored the trend," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market at a glance

• Tata Steel gains 3 per cent after all-round Q4 performance; analysts upbeat
• IDBI Bank rises 7 per cent after Cabinet approves strategic disinvestment
• Hero MotoCorp jumps 5 per cent ahead of Q4 earnings
• Profit booking in Sun Pharma a day after surge
• PSU banks also see profit booking after gaining for two days

Among the blue chip stocks, Hindalco was the top gainer, rising 5.67 per cent. Hero MotoCorp, Wipro, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, BPCL and HDFC were other gainers.

UPL was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 1.43 per cent. Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Sun Pharma, NTPC, ONGC, SBi Life Insurance, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints were other scrips that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended higher, in line with their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap rose 0.70 per cent and Nifty Midcap advanced 0.94 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, advanced 0.72 per cent.

Mphasis, Jindal Steel, Aarti Industries, Aarti Drugs, Wockhardt Pharma and TV18 Broadcast were top gainers from mid- and small-cap segments, climbing in the range of 4-10 per cent.

Future Retail, Affle India, CEAT, Tata Chemicals, Tata Elxsi and Pfizer were major losers from the broader market space, falling in the range of 2-5 per cent.

The sectoral matrix was mixed on NSE. Nifty Pharma, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank ended in the red while other gauges registered gains.

Nifty Metal was the top gainer, up 2.51 per cent followed by Nifty Auto, which rose 1.78 per cent.

The markets is consistently rewarding traders who are focusing more on sector and stock selection during the prevailing consolidation phase. Covid-related updates, earnings and global cues would remain on the participants’ radar.

-Ajit Mishra, Religare Broking

Overall market breadth was in favour of gainers as 1,650 stocks ended in the green while 1,347 counters settled with cuts. As many as 245 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the small-cap space. Meanwhile, 32 scrips hit 52-week lows, mostly from the micro-cap space. About 350 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 182 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading mixed at the last count. London-based FTSE was up 0.16 per cent but Paris and Frankfurt declined 0.05 per cent and 0.07 per cent, respectively. In Asia, China and Indonesia dropped while other markets closed in the green.