Sensex closes at record high, Nifty above 13,650 for first time; HDFC, ONGC top gainers

Equity benchmarks raced to fresh peaks and closed at record highs on Wednesday amid positive trends in global markets. Sensex ended 403 points higher at 46,666 and Nifty gained 114 points to 13,682. In today's session, Sensex hit an all-time high of 46,704 and Nifty logged a lifetime high of 13,692. Yesterday, Sensex ended 9 points higher at 46,263 and Nifty gained 9 points to 13,567.

HDFC, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Asian Paints, Mahindra and Mahindra and TCS were the top gainers on Sensex. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra and SBI were among the laggards. Except for PSU Banks, all other indices closed in bullish territory with 5% rise in realty shares, followed by an almost 1% gain in pharma and auto scrips.

Market participants said continuously improving macroeconomic indicators after SBI in a research report said India's GDP growth was expected at (-) 7.4 per cent in FY21 on better-than-projected recovery, upgrading its earlier forecast of (-) 10.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings raised India's growth projection for the current fiscal to (-) 7.7 per cent from (-) 9 per cent estimated earlier.

In global cues, markets were buoyed today as COVID-19 vaccine developments and prospects of more stimulus by US government boosted sentiments. This overshadowed concerns over fresh lockdown restrictions.

US stocks rose sharply on Tuesday as traders grew more optimistic about Congress passing another economic relief package. Investors now await U.S. Federal Reserve statement for new projections on whether the economy will suffer a double-dip recession or is on the cusp of a vaccine-inspired boom.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said," Markets regained strength and posted decent gains, supported by upbeat global cues. The latest developments on the stimulus package in the US boosted sentiments across the globe including India. The Nifty index traded with a positive bias throughout the session and ended near the day's high at 13,674 levels. The broader markets too participated wherein both Midcap and Smallcap ended higher by 0.7% and 0.8%. Amongst the sectors, except banking which ended flat, all the other sectors witnessed healthy buying interest wherein Realty, Consumer Durables and Telecom were the top gainers."

Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical, CapitalVia Global Research Limited said," The market breakout above the Nifty 50 Index level of 13600. The market's short-term technical condition shows an upward shift in the prevailing market range, and it is likely to range between 13550 and 13780. It has observed, that the market breadth to improve further along with other momentum indicators like RSI, MACD, indicating an uptrend. We expect the market to gain momentum, leading to an upside projection till the 13780 levels."

On the currency front, the Indian rupee appreciated by 5 paise to close at 73.58 per US dollar on Wednesday, as sustained foreign fund inflows and strong domestic equities strengthened investor sentiment.

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