Nifty, Sensex Post New Closing Highs For Third Day As Airtel, HDFC Bank Lead: Market Wrap

The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex settled at the highest closing level for the second consecutive sessions in a row, as Bharti Airtel Ltd. and HDFC Bank Ltd. led gains. The indices rose to new intraday highs for four days in a row.

The Nifty 50 ended 148.10 points, or 0.57% higher at 25,939.05, and the Sensex ended up 384.30 points, or 0.45% at 84,928.61.

During the session, Nifty rose as much as 0.64% to 25,956.00, and Sensex was up 0.52% at 84,980.53.

"Due to a strong gap-up opening, the index oscillated in a well-maintained range and finally settled the trade at a record level of 25,939.05 with gains of 148.10 points," said Aditya Gaggar, director, Progressive Share Brokers Pvt.

Barring information technology, all the other sectors advanced, with PSU banks and real estate being the top performers.

The interest of market participants was back in the broader markets as Midcap advanced by 0.84%, while Smallcaps soared over 1% and outperformed the Frontline Index. Considering the strong rally in the past two trading sessions, the index seems to be overheated in the short run, Gaggar said. 

Profit-taking correction can be expected, where the zone of 25,800-25,850 will serve as a strong support area and on the flip side, a level of 26,000 will work as a psychological barrier, he said.

Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., State Bank of India, and Bajaj Auto Ltd. positively contributed to changes in the Nifty.

While those of ICICI Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., and Eicher Motors Ltd. limited gains.

On NSE, 11 sectors advanced with the NSE Nifty PSU Bank rising the most. The NSE Nifty IT declined.

Broader indices outperformed. Both BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap closed 0.7% higher.

All 20 sectoral indices on the BSE rose, except BSE Information Technology. BSE Oil & Gas rose the most.

Market breadth was skewed in the favour of buyers. As many as 2,392 stocks rose, 1,719 fell, and 122 remained unchanged on the BSE.