Sensex and Nifty continue bull run, settle at fresh lifetime highs as Govt approves COVID-19 vaccines

The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended at new record highs on Monday after the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Sunday approved the emergency use of both Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for immunisation against Covid-19 in India.

The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 307.82 points (0.64 per cent) to settle at a new lifetime high of 48,176.80. During the day, the 30-share BSE benchmark breached the 48,000-mark for the first time ever and touch a record intra-day high of 48,220.47.

Likewise, the broader Nifty 50 too rose 114.40 points (0.82 per cent) to end at a record closing high of 14,132.90. In the intra-day session of trade, the NSE benchmark had breached the 14,100-mark and touched a lifetime peak of 14,147.95.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), HCL Technologies and ICICI Bank were the biggest contributors to Sensex on Monday. See heatmap below

Gainers and losers of the day on the Sensex. (Source: BSE)

Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index was the best performer of the day, gaining 5.09 per cent led by Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries and Jindal Steel & Power. It was followed by the Nifty IT index which rose 2.67 per cent aided by Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Coforge and TCS.

However, the key Bank Nifty index slipped 0.04 per cent weighed by Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bandhan Bank.

Here’s how the sectoral indices performed:

Sectoral gainers and losers of the day on the National Stock Exchange. (Source: NSE)

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 18,421.52, up 257.04 points (1.42 per cent), while the S&P BSE SmallCap settled at 18,510.83, up 249.80 points (1.37 per cent).

“Emboldened by the likely roll-out of the vaccine this month, bulls went berserk bolstered by IT and metal stocks with able support from pharma stocks. PMI data and renewed buying in select financials provided buoyancy across the broader markets,” S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities, said in a post-market comment.

Global market

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.

The Chinese yuan surged nearly 1 per cent against the dollar, while the greenback plumbed its lowest levels against a basket of peer currencies since April 2018. Bitcoin hovered above $32,000 on the back of a blistering 800 per cent rally since mid-March.

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 percent on the day after the start of trading in London.

— global market input from Reuters