Sensex, Nifty end at record peaks again as bull run continues; is there more steam in this rally?

Indian share market witnessed another strong session on Wednesday, as bulls took over the charge. BSE Sensex surged 403 points or 0.87 per cent to end at a record peak of 46,666. While the broader Nifty 50 index soared 115 points or 0.85 per cent to settle at record closing high of 13,683. During intraday trade, Sensex hit a lifetime high of 46,704.97 and Nifty 13,692.35 levels. The broader market too performed inline with the equity market. The S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.87 per cent to finish at 17,888 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 17,852, up 0.88 per cent. Top Sensex contributors were Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), HDFC Bank, TCS, Infosys and Bharti Airtel among others.

Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA, Consulting Technical Analyst, Gemstone Equity Research & Advisory Services

“Nifty continued climbing to dizzying heights as it went on to scale and close at fresh lifetime highs after staying range bound in the first half of the session. The NIFTY has moved past the 13600 level after consolidating for four days just below this point, the index today moved past it with strength. We have weekly options expiry coming up; we will see the markets move grossly influenced by the weekly expiry of the options unless something more serious develops overnight in the US markets. Going by the Options data, the 13600 saw large amount of Put writing. The Maximum Call OI at 13800 and highest Put OI at 13500 NIFTY has kept options open for wide-ranging moves. It would be prudent staying highly stock-specific while protecting profits vigilantly at current and higher levels.”

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities

“Indian equity benchmark indices broke out of a three day sideways move to close near the highest point of the day on Dec 16 making another record high. World stocks rose to record highs on Wednesday while the safe-haven dollar reached its lowest in more than two and a half years on the prospect of effective coronavirus vaccines and more U.S. fiscal stimulus. Markets will look to the US Federal Reserve later to see whether it hints at an extension of its stimulus programme and it thinks the economy will suffer a double-dip recession or is on the cusp of a vaccine-inspired boom. European stocks and the euro also got a boost after PMI economic data came in better than expected and the European Central Bank decided on Tuesday to let euro zone banks start paying dividends again if they have enough capital. Nifty continues its uptrend with a series of upgaps which are yet to be filled. This shows the strength of the current upmove and also indicates that whenever the correction starts all the recent upgaps may have to be filled. 13800-13900 is the cluster resistance zone for the Nifty.

Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd

“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. In absence of any major domestic event, global cues viz. news related to the US Stimulus and Fed decision on interest rates would remain in the focus. Almost all the sectors are contributing to the rally so the focus should remain on the selection of stocks.”