Benchmark indices closed higher for the second consecutive session today as participants showed keen interest in IT and financial shares ahead of the Q3 earnings season. Sensex closed 650.98 points higher at 60,395 and Nifty climbed 190.60 points to end at 18,003.30. Titan, Maruti, SBI, L&T, HDFC and Kotak Bank were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.29%.
Wipro, Nestle India, Asian Paints and PowerGrid were among the top Sensex losers, falling up to 2.47%
Analysts said the Q3 corporate results announcements starting this week from the IT majors and HDFC Bank are likely to set the trend for the crucial tech and banking segments.
Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 274.68 lakh crore. Market breadth was positive with 2,640 stocks ending higher against 1,001 stocks closing lower on BSE. 107 shares were unchanged.
BSE mid cap and small cap indices rose 176 points and 356 points, respectively. Banking shares were the top sectoral gainers with BSE bankex rising 754 points to 43,800. BSE capital goods , auto and IT indices rose 661 points, 435 points and 323 points, respectively.
All 19 sectoral indices closed in the green.
Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities said, “The upside movement continued in the market after a small dip and the strength of upside momentum seems to be back in the market. The next upside levels to be watched around 18200/18350, which could be achieved in one week. Immediate support is placed at 17870 levels.”
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 496.27 crore on January 7, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 115 crore, as per provisional data available on NSE.
On Friday, benchmark indices closed higher, led by gains in Reliance Industries, TCS and ICICI Bank amid a mixed trend in global markets. Sensex ended 142.81 points higher at 59,744.65 and Nifty rose 66.80 points to close at 17,812. Asian Paints was the top Sensex gainer rising 1.79% followed by TCS, Nestle India, Ultratech Cement, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries.
Elsewhere in Asia, the bourses ended on a subdued note as investors awaitedUS inflation data.
