Sensex zooms over 400 points to hit 46,000-mark for first time ever; Nifty tops 13,500 – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Equity indices on Wednesday continued to surge with the benchmark BSE sensex rising over 400 points to cross 46,000-mark for the first time ever amid persistent foreign fund inflow and positive cues from global markets. The broader NSE Nifty also jumped more than 100 points to trade above 13,500-mark.
Top gainers in the BSE pack included Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries with their stocks up as much as 2.15 per cent
Binod Modi, head of strategy at Reliance Securities, told news agency PTI that domestic markets saw a gap-up opening taking cues from positive global markets.
“Persistent FPI (Foreign portfolio investor) flow remains a dominant factor for the markets. Given strong visibility of sustained earnings growth in 2HFY21 led by continued traction in business activities for many sectors, markets are likely to remain buoyant,” he added.
FPIs were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,909.60 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.
Also, the indices extended the record run as hopes for vaccine approvals boosted investor sentiment.
India’s health secretary said on Tuesday the country may approve some coronavirus vaccines over the next few weeks and an estimated 300 million people would be inoculated in the first tranche.
India has the world’s second-highest virus caseload behind the United States, but daily cases have stayed below the 50,000-mark since November 8, despite a busy festival season that saw crowded markets and streets.
“The vaccine news is a sentiment booster. But it is gushing liquidity that is supporting markets, we are seeing risk-on sentiment building up globally,” Aishvarya Dadheech, fund manager at Ambit Asset Management in Mumbai told news agency Reuters.
Global equities traded higher on Wednesday, after Britain started mass-vaccinating its people using a fully-tested Covid-19 shot and as Johnson & Johnson said it could obtain late-stage trial results for a single-dose vaccine earlier than expected.
(With inputs from agencies)