The Indian equity benchmarks witnessed a strong trading session on Wednesday with Nifty 50 index advancing for fourth session in a row as investor sentiment remained bullish as downward trend in daily COVID-19 cases fuelled hopes of a swifter economic reopening. The benchmarks opened on a subdued note but surged in mid-morning deals owing to buying interest in information technology shares. The Nifty 50 index closed near its all-time closing high of 15,315 and Sensex surged as much as 435 points to move above its important psychological level of 51,000.
The Sensex ended 380 points or 0.75 per cent higher at 51,017 and Nifty 50 index climbed 93 points or 0.61 per cent to send at 15,301.
India set a new record with the highest number of Covid tests conducted in the last 24 hours at 22.17 lakh. The country registered 2.08 lakh fresh coronavirus infections and 4,157 deaths. So far, 3.11 lakh people have died of Covid in the country.
Nine of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty IT index’s 2 per cent gain. Nifty Realty, Media, Auto and Financial Services shares also witnessed buying interest.
On the other hand, metal and PSU banking stocks witnessed selling pressure.
Mid- and small-cap shares ended on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.1 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 0.6 per cent.
Bajaj Finserv was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose nearly 5 per cent close at Rs 11,900. Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Grasim Industries, Wipro, UPL, HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra and Mahindra & Mahindra also rose 1.5-3 per cent.
On the flipside, Power Grid, Hindalco, Tata Steel, NTPC, Tata Consumer Products, Coal India, ONGC, Bharat Petroleum and Adani Ports were among the losers.
The overall market breadth was extremely positive as 1,953 shares ended lower while 1,183 closed higher on the BSE.