Sensex jumps 759 points to close at record high; Nifty scales 22K mount on sharp gain in IT shares

Benchmark Sensex closed above the 73,000 level for the first time while broader Nifty scaled the 22,000-point peak on Monday as key stock indices stayed on the record-breaking run powered by a rally in IT shares, Reliance and HDFC Bank.

Rising for the fifth day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 759.49 points or 1.05% to settle at a lifetime closing high of 73,327.94. During the day, it rallied 833.71 points or 1.14% to hit an all-time intra-day peak of 73,402.16.

The Nifty climbed 202.90 points or 0.93% to settle at a new closing high of 22,097.45. During the day, it zoomed 221 points or 1% to reach a lifetime intra-day high of 22,115.55.

A strong rally in IT shares Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech after better-than-expected Q3 results helped the indices scale new record high levels. oil and gas and energy sector shares also boosted the rally.

"The market gained momentum, led by the uptick in the IT index with the growing optimism about increased discretionary spending and strong deal wins. The US bond yield edged lower as market participants bet on the FED easing cycle, which is expected to start in March," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Among the Sensex firms, Wipro jumped over 6% after the IT company's December quarter earnings beat estimates.

The other prominent gainers were HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries.

HCL Technologies on Friday reported a 6.2% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,350 crore, highest ever on a quarterly basis, in the three months ended December 2023 on the back of growth in both services and software businesses.

Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

IT majors were on the front foot while select heavyweights from banking and energy baskets also aided the uptick, according to Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.67% and smallcap index rallied 0.11%.

Among the indices, IT jumped 1.79%, teck climbed 1.79%, oil and gas (1.70%), energy (1.66%), telecommunication (1.41%) and financial services (0.81%).

Commodities and metal were the laggards.

Meanwhile, wholesale inflation inched edged up 0.73% in December from 0.26% in the previous month mainly due to a sharp rise in food prices. Wholesale inflation was in the negative zone from April to October.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai settled in the green while Hong Kong ended marginally lower. European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended on a muted note on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.29% to $78.06 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 340.05 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark zoomed 847.27 points or 1.18% to settle at 72,568.45 on Friday. The Nifty climbed 247.35 points or 1.14% to settle at 21,894.55.