The Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty rallied more than 1 percent to end at record high levels on Friday. The Sensex surged 689.19 points or, 1.43 percent, to end at 48,782.51, while the Nifty closed at 14,347.25, up 209.90 points, or 1.48 percent.

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The rally in the market was fuelled by robust buying in IT and auto stocks.

Broader markets, Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 participated in the rally and ended higher. Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT, Nifty Auto and Nifty Media jumped 3 percent each. Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank, however, ended in the red.

Maruti was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 6 percent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, PowerGrid and NTPC.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI, ITC and HDFC were the laggards. According to Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, growing expectations of stronger fiscal stimulus in the US after Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory has fuelled equities rally globally.

”Markets completely downplayed earlier concerns of reversal of lower tax rates in the scenario of Democrats taking control of both the houses of Congress,” he added.

A sustained rebound in key economic data for December 2020 and likely commencement of vaccination drive shortly in India augur well for domestic equities, he said, adding that the underlying strength of domestic equities is intact, which essentially can propel benchmark indices to witness fresh highs in coming weeks.

”FPIs are unlikely to turn net sellers barring select weeks of days considering the status of global economy, stance of global central bankers and a weak dollar,” he stated. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with significant gains, while Shanghai was in the red.

(With inputs from PTI)

First Published:Jan 8, 2021 3:36 PM IST