Equity benchmarks extended gains and closed at fresh record highs on Thursday, amid mixed cues from global equities. Sensex ended 222 points higher at 15,531 and Nifty closed 66 points higher at 15,173. BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.38%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.99%.
Top gainers today: List of 8 shares that rose over 5%
Yesterday, Sensex ended 19 points lower at 51,309 and Nifty fell 2 points to close at 15,106. On February 9, Sensex hit a record high of 51,753 and Nifty hit a lifetime high of 15,237.
RIL, Bajaj twins, Airtel, Hindalco, Adani Ports were among the top gainers while, Nestle, TCS, Axis Bank, L&T traded as the top losers. Sectorally, indices ended on a mixed note today. Gains in FMCG, metal, IT and pharma were capped by losses in realty, auto, banking and financial stocks.
Ruchit Jain (Senior Analyst - Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking) said," Unlike last week, it has been a week of consolidation so far for the indices as Nifty, as well as Bank Nifty, have traded with a narrow range. There are no signs of reversal of the trend and hence, this just seems to be a time-wise correction, which was much-required post the sharp run up in the budget week. As of now, there are no signs of any deeper retracements and hence, once this consolidation is over we expect the markets to resume its uptrend. The immediate supports for Nifty are placed around 15100 followed by 14975 whereas resistance is seen around the swing high of 15250 above which Nifty should resume momentum."
Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mostly higher on Thursday. Markets in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are closed for holidays.
In the US, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged slightly lower on Wednesday as big tech stocks slid, although the overall market traded near record highs.
European indices also erased early gains and turned green. Traders said strong earnings and prospects of economic recovery by stimulus and an accelerated vaccine rollout buoyed investor sentiment. However, investors booked profit on overpriced stocks and rotated out of large-cap tech names into other sectors.
On Nifty's technical outlook, Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said, "Index closed a day on a positive note at 15173 with gains of half a per cent, the index has formed a range and it's trading within the same range last four sessions. The overall range for nifty is coming at 15k on the downside and 15250 on the higher side so unless we see either side breakout final direction will not be clear and index may trade sideways in the same range."
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said,"The domestic market closed with slight gains after its range-bound rally, tracking gains in index heavyweights and positive European & Asian markets. The upward movement in the market was supported by energy, telecom and FMCG stocks with small caps outperforming. Dip in January auto retail sales numbers pushed the sectoral index into the negative territory while PSU banks also remained under pressure."
Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said," We reiterate our bullish view on markets however traders should maintain extra caution in the selection of stocks now. Participants would be actively tracking key macroeconomic data like IIP, CPI and WPI data for cues on Friday. A decisive break above 15,250 would trigger further up move else consolidation will continue.
In the foreign exchange market, India rupee appreciated to 72.77 compared with its previous closing of 72.84.
Rahul Gupta, Head Of Research-Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services said,"USDINR Spot hit a low of 72.70 which is the crucial support zone and if it consistently trades below 72.70 then further downside is expected towards 72.50. However, if the pair respected 72.70 mark then we may see a bounce towards 73.0-73.15."
Stocks in news: Aurobindo Pharma, Titan, Crompton Greaves, Bank of India, Bharat Petroleum
Share Market Live: Sensex drops 100 points, Nifty at 15,080; Nestle, TCS, Axis Bank, L&T top losers