Mumbai, Jan 22 (IANS) Upbeat quarterly corporate earnings, along with appreciable influx of foreign funds and healthy buying in IT stocks, lifted the key Indian equity indices on Monday yet again to record high levels — continuing with gains for the fourth consecutive trade session.

The wider Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed higher by 71.50 points or 0.66 per cent at a new level of 10,966.20 points.

The Nifty50 scaled a record intra-day high of 10,975.10 points.

The barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE too touched a new level of 35,827.70 points during intra-day trade.

The Sensex closed at a fresh level of 35,798.01 points — up 286.43 points or 0.81 per cent — from its previous session’s close.

The BSE market breadth was bullish as 1,580 stocks advanced as against 1,318 declines.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index closed higher by 0.63 per cent and the small-cap index by 0.78 per cent.

“Markets surged higher to yet another new record high after opening on a positive note. It was the fourth consecutive session of gains for the Nifty,” Deepak Jasani, Head – Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

“The session began on a positive note on the back of firmness in global equity markets and rallied through the day, though there were bouts of volatility,” he added.

On the global front, major Asian markets closed on a positive note, barring the Kospi index. European indices like DAX and CAC 40 were trading in the red.

“Indian benchmark indices continued the uptrend and closed at record highs with the help of positive corporate results and recent government measures, including a cut in the GST for certain sectors,” Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.

In a major decision last week, the GST Council slashed the rates on 54 services and 29 items, including old and used motor vehicles, public transport buses run on bio-fuel, sugar-boiled confectionery and packaged water, which cheered investors.

On Monday, the Indian rupee weakened by two paise to close at 63.87 against the US dollar from its last week’s close at 63.85.

Provisional data with the exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors purchased scrips worth Rs 1,567.51 crore, while the domestic institutional investors divested Rs 461.87 crore stocks.

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said: “IT sector’s continued resurgence ensured that Nifty continued its record breaking streak, amidst earnings positivity.

“With derivatives’ expiry approaching, heightened activity was also witnessed in the F&O (futures and options) segment while budget expectations ensured that interest in mid-caps did not ebb away,” he added.

Sectorwise, the S&P BSE capital goods index surged the most — up 361.87 points — followed by IT index by 246.12 points and consumer durables index by 180.12 points.

On the other hand, the S&P BSE metal index slipped by 125.13 points, telecom index by 23.82 points and utilities index by 12.07 points.

Major Sensex gainers on Monday were: Tata Consultancy Services, up 5.36 per cent at Rs 3,113.15; Reliance Industries, up 4.50 per cent at Rs 971.20; Axis Bank, up 3.52 per cent at Rs 611.05; ONGC, up 3.28 per cent at Rs 199.95; and Yes Bank, up 2 per cent at Rs 355.25.

Major Sensex losers were: Wipro, down 2.33 per cent at Rs 320.80; Tata Motors (DVR), down 2.05 per cent at Rs 238.95; Bharti Airtel, down 1.62 per cent at Rs 489.70; Asian Paints, down 1.40 per cent at Rs 1,176.70; and HDFC, down 1.38 per cent at Rs 1,874.15.

–IANS
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