Sensex rises 150 points on New Year's day; Nifty above 12,200

NEW DELHI: Benchmark indices kicked off Day 1 of the New Year on a positive note, as traders shrugged off concerns over widening of fiscal deficit, contracting core sector growth and likely tepid auto sales numbers.

The BSE benchmark Sensex, which gained over 160 points in initial trade, stood at 41,387.20, up 133.46 or 0.32 per cent. The NSE barometer was trading 42.75 or 0.35 per cent higher at 12,211.20.

“The near-term bearish outlook for the index can get negated only on a close above 12,290 level,” said Mazhar Mohammad of Chartviewindia.in.


Among Sensex stocks, Bharti AIrtel gained the most with 0.98 per cent to Rs 460.25. IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Axis bank gained up to 0.8 per cent.

Three Sensex stocks NTPC, TCS and Nestle India were trading up to 0.3 per cent lower.

New-debutant Prince Pipes was trading nearly 2 per cent higher after promoters repaid Rs 200 crore loan in escrow and informed bourses that there is no pledge or encumbrance on shares.

YES Bank gained 0.75 per cent even as Care Ratings downgraded the bank's bonds worth Rs 21,000 crore.

State-owned engineering and construction firm Ircon International rose 1.75 per cent after it entered into a pact with BEML to explore and address opportunities in the overseas market.

Tata Motors rose 0.2 per cent to Rs 185.50. Managing director Guenter Butschek expects the company to turn around in fiscal 2021 after underperforming the market this year, as he bets on a leaner cost structure, a pipeline of over a dozen products.

Overall, the market breadth was fairly positive, with 4 of every 5 stocks on the BSE, trading higher.