At December-end in 2017, the Nifty stood at about 10,530 and today, after a sell-off in the early part of the year, the index is up 4 percent at near 11,000 point.

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A closer look at what’s moved the benchmark equity index Nifty in 2018 revealed the positive contribution by 19 stocks in the 50 stock index, which added over 5 percent collectively to the index.

These stocks together account for about 38 percent of the total weight of the index.

Among these are heavyweights like Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HDFC Bank.

However, the biggest gainers in percentage terms among these index stocks are TCS (47 percent), Bajaj Finance (41 percent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (40 percent), Infosys (30 percent), Tech Mahindra (29 percent) and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (29 percent).

Among the other high weighted stocks, RIL gained over 17 percent and HDFC Bank 16 percent.

This clearly revealed that a few big counters have moved up sharply to provide the index the required impetus, masking a decline in the majority of index stocks and more so in the broader market.

As you can see, the list of gainers is dominated by information technology (IT) services stocks and banks, besides RIL, which too is now being viewed more like a communications and digital play, more than just a refining and petrochemicals giant.

While strong private banks are seen gaining from the woes of state-owned banks, the IT services sector is seeing a turnaround in fortunes with an improvement in the global outsourcing environment, especially in the financial sector.

If other sectors join in, the index could gain strength. But if not, given the strong gains already recorded in many of the counters, the rally could falter. The Nifty is precariously perched.

First Published:Jul 16, 2018 1:03 PM IST