Share Market Update: Sensex Zooms Over 250 Points, Nifty End At Record Closing High

Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended at fresh lifetime highs on Monday, propelled by gains in Infosys amid positive domestic and global cues. After rallying nearly 300 points to its record intra-day high of 41,899.63, the 30-share BSE index settled at a new closing peak of 41,859.69, up 259.97 points, or 0.62 per cent.

Likewise, the broader Nifty scaled its lifetime (intra-day) high of 12,337.75, before ending at 72.75 points, or 0.59 per cent, higher at 12,329.55 -- its new closing peak. Both indices were driven by Infosys, that rallied 4.76 per cent, after the IT services major on Friday reported a 23.7 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,466 crore for the December quarter.

IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, HUL, M&M, Tata Steel, PowerGrid and Tech Mahindra too ended with gains on the BSE. On the other hand, TCS, SBI, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, RIL, Axis Bank and Nestle India finished in the red.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 147.37 points, or 0.36 per cent, higher at 41,599.72 and the Nifty settled 40.90 points, or 0.33 per cent, higher at 12,256.80.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 578.28 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 251.74 crore on Friday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

According to traders, besides positive quarterly numbers from Infosys, positive domestic macro data and firm global cues boosted market mood here.

After contracting for three months in a row, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a growth of 1.8 per cent in November, mainly on account of improvement in the manufacturing sector, as per government data released after market hours on Friday.

Further, Indian markets opened the week on a positive note following upbeat trend Asian markets as the the long-awaited phase one trade deal between the US and China is set to be signed this week, experts said. Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended significantly higher, while European markets started on a positive note. Brent crude oil futures rose 0.37 per cent to USD 65.22 per barrel. The rupee appreciated 12 paise to 70.82 per US dollar (intra-day).

Gold prices decline Rs 236 on global selling

Gold prices on Monday fell Rs 236 to Rs 40,432 per 10 gram in the national capital on global selling and stronger rupee, according to HDFC Securities. The precious metal had closed at Rs 40,668 per 10 gram in the previous trade. Silver prices also dropped Rs 376 to Rs 47,635 per kg from Rs 48,011 per kg in the previous trade.

“Spot gold of 24 karat in Delhi was trading Rs 236 down on global selling and stronger rupee. The spot rupee was trading around 13 paise stronger against the dollar during the day,” Tapan Patel, senior analyst (commodities), HDFC securities, said. Gold and silver in the international market were also trading lower at USD 1,550 per ounce and USD 17.97 per ounce, respectively.

“Gold prices have witnessed correction on easing geopolitical risk on US-Iran military escalation. Global markets have turned focused on US-China phase-1 trade deal,” he added.

(With inputs from PTI)