Sensex Rallies 689 Pts To End At Fresh High

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex soared 689 points to end at a fresh all-time high on Friday, led by Infosys, TCS and Reliance amid strong buying sentiment in global equities.

The 30-share BSE index closed 689.19 points or 1.43 per cent higher at 48,782.51. It touched an intra-day record of 48,854.34.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rallied 209.90 points or 1.48 per cent to close at its record high of 14,347.25. During the day, the index scaled a life-time peak of 14,367.30.

Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 6 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, PowerGrid and NTPC.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI, ITC and HDFC were the laggards.

According to Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, growing expectations of stronger fiscal stimulus in the US after Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's victory have fuelled equities rally globally.

"Markets completely downplayed earlier concerns of reversal of lower tax rates in the scenario of Democrats taking control of both the houses of Congress," he added.

A sustained rebound in key economic data for December 2020 and likely commencement of vaccination drive shortly in India augur well for domestic equities, he said, adding that the underlying strength of domestic equities is intact, which essentially can propel benchmark indices to witness fresh highs in coming weeks.

"FPIs are unlikely to turn net sellers barring select weeks of days considering the status of global economy, stance of global central bankers and weak dollar," he stated.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with significant gains, while Shanghai was in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in early deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.59 per cent higher at USD 54.70 per barrel.

Rupee Recovers 7 Paise To Close At 73.24 A Dollar

The Indian rupee staged a smart recovery from the day's lowest level to end 7 paise higher at 73.24 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking an intense rally in domestic equities.

Starting off on a sluggish note, the Indian unit fell to a low of 73.45 against the American currency during the session, but pared all its intra-day losses to finish at 73.24.

For a better part of the session, the rupee remained under pressure due to stronger American currency against key rivals and surging crude oil prices, eventually capping its gains.

The rupee had closed 20 paise lower at 73.31 a dollar on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.12 per cent to 89.93.

Global crude oil benchmark Brent was trading higher by 0.31 per cent at USD 54.69 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex zoomed 689.19 points or 1.43 per cent to close at a record 48,782.51, while the broader NSE Nifty surged 209.90 points or 1.48 per cent to 14,347.25.

Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 382.30 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.

(With PTI Inputs)