Markets close at record high, Sensex touches 73,327 points, Nifty at 22,097

Benchmark Sensex closed above the 73,000 level for the first time while broader Nifty scaled the 22,000-point peak on Monday as key stock indices stayed on the record-breaking run powered by a rally in IT shares, Reliance and HDFC Bank. Rising for the fifth day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 759.49 points or 1.05 per cent to settle at a lifetime closing high of 73,327.94. During the day, it rallied 833.71 points or 1.14 per cent to hit an all-time intra-day peak of 73,402.16. The Nifty climbed 202.90 points or 0.93 per cent to settle at a new closing high of 22,097.45. During the day, it zoomed 221 points or 1 per cent to reach a lifetime intra-day high of 22,115.55. A strong rally in IT shares Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech after better than expected Q3 results helped the indices scale new record high levels. Oil & gas and energy sector shares also boosted the rally. “The market gained momentum, led by the uptick in the IT index with the growing optimism about increased discretionary spending and strong deal wins. The US bond yield edged lower as market participants bet on the FED easing cycle, which is expected to start in March,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. Among the Sensex firms, Wipro jumped over 6 per cent after the IT company’s December quarter earnings beat estimates. The other prominent gainers were HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries. HCL Technologies on Friday reported a 6.2 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,350 crore, highest ever on a quarterly basis, in the three months ended December 2023 on the back of growth in both services and software businesses. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Axis Bank were among the laggards. IT majors were on the front foot while select heavyweights from banking and energy baskets also aided the uptick, according to Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd. In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.67 per cent and smallcap index rallied 0.11 per cent. Among the indices, IT jumped 1.79 per cent, teck climbed 1.79 per cent, oil & gas (1.70 per cent), energy (1.66 per cent), telecommunication (1.41 per cent) and financial services (0.81 per cent). Commodities and metal were the laggards. Meanwhile, wholesale inflation inched edged up 0.73 per cent in December from 0.26 per cent in the previous month mainly due to a sharp rise in food prices. Wholesale inflation was in the negative zone from April to October. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai settled in the green while Hong Kong ended marginally lower. European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended on a muted note on Friday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.29 per cent to USD 78.06 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 340.05 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. The BSE benchmark zoomed 847.27 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 72,568.45 on Friday. The Nifty climbed 247.35 points or 1.14 per cent to settle at 21,894.55.