Indices open marginally higher, scale fresh intra-day records

PTI, Dec 17, 2020, 10:22 AM IST

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Mumbai: Scaling fresh intra-day records, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty inched higher in early trade on Thursday tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and ICICI Bank amid persistent foreign fund inflows and largely positive trend in global markets.

After touching its lifetime intra-day high of 46,778.51 in the morning session, the 30-share BSE index was trading 32.27 points or 0.07 per cent higher at 46,698.73.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 11 points or 0.08 per cent to 13,693.70. It hit a high of 13,713.55 in early trade.

UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 1 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC.

On the other hand, ITC, HCL Tech, L&T, HUL and SBI were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex settled 403.29 points or 0.87 per cent higher at 46,666.46, while the NSE Nifty climbed 114.85 points or 0.85 per cent to 13,682.70 — record closing for both the benchmarks.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,981.77 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Domestic equities are looking flat at the moment mainly on soft cues from Asian markets, said Binod Modi, Head- Strategy at Reliance Securities, adding that better prospects of earning recovery, dismal interest rate scenario and strong FPIs participation led markets to see record highs.

“As underlying strengths of the market remain intact, we expect the market to remain buoyant in the near to medium term. However, a visible slowdown in diesel sales, volumes in digital transactions and credit card spends post festival and rise in input prices may be threats for earnings rebound. This along with rich valuation might not result in a broad-based rally in the subsequent period,” he stated.

US equities finished mostly higher after the Federal Reserve maintained its dovish tone and reassured to maintain ultra-low interest rates and continuous asset purchase until the economy makes substantial progress, Modi said.

“Now investors will focus upon progress on fiscal stimulus, which appears to be happening shortly. This may determine the Santa rally ahead of Christmas,” he noted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Seoul was in the red.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.86 per cent higher at $51.52 per barrel.