Sensex, Nifty open at record high; Adani Power jumps 5 per cent, IT stocks touch 52-week highs

On Monday, Sensex and Nifty opened at record highs. Sensex, for the first time, crossed 49,000 levels. The index closed at 49,269.32, gaining by 486.81 points or by 1 per cent from its previous close while Nifty rose by 137.50 points or by 0.96 per cent to settle at 14,484.75 levels.  

Following better-than-expected results for Q3FY21, the share price of TCS hit its fresh 52-week high. The company posted 7.17 per cent YoY rise in the consolidated profit for Q3FY21. TCS’s strong performance for Q3FY21 lifted other tech stocks as well with HCL Technologies, Wipro, Infosys, etc. touching their respective fresh 52-week highs. Hence, the strong commentary from the top IT companies indicates a new tech spend cycle.  

There is a positive increase in the number of vehicle registrations in the month of December 2020 compared to those in 2019. As a result, the shares of auto companies also rallied.  

India VIX jumps 8.44 per cent, indicating increased volatility in the domestic markets.  

In the global markets, Asian indices such as Shanghai Composite index tumbled 1.08 per cent as US-Sino tensions rose along with the increasing number of Coronavirus cases. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 0.11 per cent while South Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.12 per cent. Japanese stocks markets remained closed on Monday on the occasion of a national holiday (Coming-of-Age Day).  

In the European markets, FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40 were trading in red, down by 0.39 per cent, 0.49 per cent, and 0.48 per cent, respectively.  

Sensex gainers included HCL Technologies that jumped 6.09 per cent, Infosys surged 4.90 per cent, HDFC inched higher by 3.70 per cent, Maruti Suzuki increased by 2.75 per cent, Tech Mahindra gained 2.51 per cent, Bajaj Auto went up by 2.40 per cent, etc.  

Sensex losers consisted of Bajaj Finserv that plunged 1.92 per cent, Bajaj Finance declined by 1.90 per cent, RIL slumped 1.86 per cent, Larsen & Toubro fell by 1.71 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank went down by 1.61 per cent, SBI weakened by 1.28 per cent, etc.  

Amongst sectoral indices on BSE, the IT index was the biggest gainer, up by 3.63 per cent while the Energy index was the biggest loser, down by 1.28 per cent. The broader markets underperformed as BSE Small-Cap index and BSE Mid-Cap index decreased by 0.17 per cent and 0.08 per cent, respectively.