Sensex from 70K to 75k: Two Tata stocks in top 5 gainers, ITC among key losers

Sensex on Tuesday hit another milestone after breaching the 75,000-mark for the first time ever. It took just four months for the BSE barometer to hit the psychological level after hitting the 70,000-mark for the first time on December 11, 2023. In this four-month period, the 30 index constituents added Rs 11,90,638 crore to their combined market capitalisation (m-cap). Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) contributed the most by adding Rs 1-3 lakh crore each to the Sensex m-cap.  

Two Tata group stocks namely Tata Motors Ltd and Tata Steel Ltd were among top five index gainers during this period; the others being Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. FMCG businesses such as ITC Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and Asian Paints Ltd and private lenders namely HDFC Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd were among top losers from the index.

The hallmark of any bull market is its ability to set new record highs. This has been happening in India, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

"An important feature of the recent rally in India is that it is led by fundamentally strong  sectors like capital goods, automobiles, banking and metals. The robustness of the Indian economy, the sustained capital flows into mutual funds and the enthusiasm of domestic investors can support the rally," he said.

Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart said several factors contributed to this market rally. "Central banks around the world implemented interest rate cuts, while governments enacted fiscal stimulus packages to bolster their economies. This strategy proved effective, leading to a robust economic recovery in India. Currently, India boasts the fastest-growing economy globally, with a promising future fueled by political stability.  We appear to be in the midst of a major bull market, which is likely to persist for the next few years. The Sensex reaching 100,000 seems like a realistic possibility in the near future."

Meena said investors should prioritise quality stocks while maintaining a long-term investment approach.

Top Sensex performers

Tata Motors has been the best Sensex performer. The stock jumped 40.54 per cent to Rs 1,012.95 level (till Monday) from Rs720.75 level on December 11, 2023.  Sun Pharma is up 28.86 per cent during the same period. Tata Steel has climbed 27 per cent, NTPC 26 per cent and M&M 26 per cent in the period mentioned. Other notable gainers included State Bank of India, Power Grid, Marui Suzuki India Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd, which gained over 20 per cent each during the period. 

Top Sensex losers

Asian Paints has been the worst Sensex performer in the four-month period. The stock fell 10.49 per cent to Rs 2,893.90 level from Rs 3,233.15 level on December 11, 2013. HUL shares are down 9.39 per cent, HDFC Bank 6.34 per cent and ITC 5.15 per cent. A total of 20 of 30 Sensex stocks are up in the four-month period.