The Indian stock markets kicked off the week on a strong note, with the Sensex and Nifty climbing to fresh all-time highs driven by strong gains in information technology stocks.
The BSE Sensex surged over 500 points to hit an intraday high of 73,066 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index crossed the 22,000 mark for the first time, touching 22,014 in morning deals.
Leading the rally were IT stocks, reflecting the continued buoyancy in the sector. Wipro was the top gainer on the Sensex, with its shares soaring over 7%. Other IT majors like Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services also witnessed strong momentum, recording 3-5% gains.
The rally in IT stocks helped the Nifty IT index surpass the key 9,000 mark, jumping over 3%. Analysts pointed to the strong deal wins and robust order pipelines driving the optimism around the sector.
Besides IT, banking and financial stocks also witnessed buying interest which propped the markets higher. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank contributed handsomely to the gains in the Sensex. The Nifty Bank index was up 0.8% in early deals.
Meanwhile, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, NTPC, and Tata Motors emerged as notable laggards amidst the buying frenzy across the board. Reflecting the positive market breadth, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indexes also participated in the rally, advancing up to 0.6%.
Going ahead, consistent foreign fund inflows along with encouraging corporate earnings for the December quarter could help sustain the ongoing momentum in Indian equities according to analysts. However, global cues especially from the US markets will remain crucial for further direction.
