Equity benchmark Sensex resumed its record-setting streak on Thursday after a day’s pause as gains in index major TCS offset profit-booking in the IT pack following strong results by Infosys and Wipro. A broad upmove in global equities and a recovering rupee further propped up the bourses, traders said.
Recovering from a shaky start, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained momentum during the day to end at its new lifetime high of 49,584.16, up 91.84 points or 0.19 per cent.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 30.75 points or 0.21 per cent to finish at a record 14,595.60.
TCS topped the Sensex gainer’s chart, spurting 2.89 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, L&T, ITC, Reliance Industries, HUL and Sun Pharma.
On the other hand, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Infosys and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards, declining up to 2.63 per cent. Infosys on Wednesday posted a 16.6 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,197 crore for the December 2020 quarter, and increased its revenue growth guidance for FY21 to 4.5-5 per cent on the back of large project wins and strong deal pipeline. Wipro posted an about 21 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,968 crore for the December 2020 quarter, and said the demand environment is improving steadily.Domestic equities witnessed a brisk recovery from the day’s low mainly led by a rebound in FMCG and pharma stocks, said Binod Modi, Head- Strategy at Reliance Securities.
IT index has been the most surprising as profit-booking was visible in many IT stocks despite strong Q3 numbers and upbeat guidance shared by the managements, he added. “We believe underlying strength of the market remains intact and any correction in the market is likely to be bought out. Sustained recovery in key economic data for Dec’20, better-than-expected 3Q .