Benchmarks scale fresh peaks; IT, metal, pharma stocks shine
Mumbai: The BSE Sensex defied gravity for the eighth straight session to finish at yet another record high on Wednesday as positive global cues and robust foreign fund inflows fuelled risk-on sentiment.
The government approving a Rs 2 lakh crore production-linked incentive package for various sectors also buoyed investors, traders said.
After touching its all-time peak of 43,708.47 during a see-saw session, the 30-share BSE index settled 316.02 points or 0.73 percent higher at 43,593.67.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty vaulted 118.05 points or 0.93 percent to close at a record 12,749.15. Intra-day, it touched its all-time high of 12,769.75.
Both the key indices scaled record highs for the third session on the trot.
Tata Steel was the top gainer among the Sensex constituents, surging 7.39 percent, followed by Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Sun Pharma, Infosys, L&T, and Bharti Airtel.
Kotak Mahindra Bank spurted 3.12 percent after MSCI said it will add the private sector lender and 11 other domestic firms to the MSCI India Index.
On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Titan, Asian Paints, HUL, and HDFC Bank closed in the red, tumbling up to 5.62 percent.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved offering Rs 2 lakh crore worth of production-linked incentives to 10 more sectors to boost domestic manufacturing.
The incentives will be offered for sectors such as white goods manufacturing, pharmaceutical, specialized steel, auto, telecom, textile, food products, solar photovoltaic, and cell battery.
Global markets remained upbeat on continued optimism over Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine news.
"Domestic markets remained upbeat and extended gain for the eighth consecutive day as positive sentiments among investors following clarity of coronavirus vaccine by BioNTech-Pfizer and strong 2Q FY21 corporate earnings persist. While the market witnessed some amount of volatility today led by profit booking in some of the heavyweights, a sharp rebound in pharma, metals, IT, and auto stocks supported the market rally.
"As the market has already witnessed a sharp run up and valuations appear to be quite stretched at the current level, profit-booking at these levels cannot be ruled out and therefore investors should be cautious at these levels. We continue to believe that a strong earnings rebound still looks to be difficult given ambiguity over CAPEX cycle recovery," said Arjun Yash Mahajan Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities.
BSE metal, healthcare, IT, tech, utilities, power, and auto indices rose as much as 3.51 percent, while energy and consumer durables finished in the red.
Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices spurted up to 0.77 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the red, while Seoul and Tokyo closed with gains.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in early deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 3.12 percent higher at USD 44.98 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital markets, buying shares worth Rs 5,627.32 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.
The rupee declined 18 paise to close at 74.36 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking strengthening American currency in the overseas market and higher crude prices.
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Minor boy strangled to death for ransom in UP's Sultanpur
Sultanpur (PTI): A debt-ridden neighbour allegedly kidnapped and murdered an 11-year-old boy boy at Sultanpur, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, Asif alias Sonu, demanded a ransom of Rs 5,00,000 for releasing Osama alias Sahil to repay his debts, Kotwali police station SHO Naradmuni Singh said.
"The incident took place in the Gandhinagar locality of Sultanpur. The victim's father, Mohd Shakeel, said his son went missing on Monday night after he left to attend a wedding procession. Despite searches, there was no trace of the child," the SHO said.
On Wednesday morning, Osama's body with strangulation marks was found at the residence of the accused whom the police arrested, he said.
Asif, who lives in the same neighbourhood as the victim, exploited the trust built between the two families to carry out the crime, the officer said.
The killing of the minor boy has triggered outrage in the area with the residents demanding stringent punishment for the accused.
The victim's family has called for death penalty for Asif.
