The bulls dominated Dalal Street for the fifth consecutive day as the equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty made fresh record highs on December 17.
The benchmarks scaled news highs, tracking positive global cues as investors remained upbeat about the prospects of stimulus, while the US Fed's signal that it will keep pumping liquidity into the market also boosted sentiment.
The Sensex touched a new high of 46,992.57 and the Nifty scaled a fresh peak at 13,773.25 in intraday trade. The 30-share pack ended 224 points, or 0.48 percent, higher at 46,890.34 while the Nifty settled 58 points, or 0.42 percent, up at 13,740.70.
However, the gains were not broad-based as mid and smallcaps underperformed and their sectoral indices on BSE fell up to 0.23 percent.
HDFC twins, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries and TCS contributed the most to the rise of the Sensex. Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki and ITC were the top drags for the index.
As the market is closely following global trends, experts advise betting cautiously on quality stocks.
"The market is inching higher with every passing day but lacks momentum which shows a positive yet cautious approach among the participants. Since we are closely following global cues, any correction in the global markets may induce profit taking here too. We thus suggest limiting naked leveraged trades and adding positions only on dips," said Ajit Mishra, VP-Research, Religare Broking.
Stocks & sectors
The sectoral scene was mixed on December 17. BSE finance rose by a percent, while the metal index fell 1.42 percent. Utilities, auto, oil & gas, telecom and FMCG also ended as the losers. BSE Bankex, capital goods and consumer durables ended in the green.
As many as 322 stocks, including Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Titan, hit their 52-week highs on BSE.
Suven Life Sciences, Tarmat and Vardhman Polytex were among 400 stocks to hit upper circuits.
A volume spike of more than 400 percent was seen in the stock of Jubilant FoodWorks. The stocks of IndusInd Bank, SRF, Page Industries, Sun TV, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cadila Healthcare and Siemens witnessed volume spikes of more than 100 percent.
Long buildup was seen in stocks such as Jubilant FoodWorks, Page Industries and SRF. Short buildup was seen in stocks such as SAIL, Bank of Baroda, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services and National Aluminium Company.
Technical View
The Nifty formed a small bullish candle on the daily scale while making higher high-higher lows on the lower timeframe.
Chandan Taparia, Vice President and Derivatives Analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said the index has to continue to hold above 13,600 to witness an up-move towards 13,850 then 14,000, while on the downside, support exists at 13,500 zones.
Mazhar Mohammad, Founder & Chief Market Strategist at Chartviewindia .in is of the view that if the bulls fail to sustain above 13,673 in the next trading session, then some pause can be expected.
"In case, the bulls manage to push the index beyond 13,773 then the eventual targets of 13,900–14,000 can be expected. On the downside, a close below 13,673 may extend the weakness initially towards 13,522 levels," Mohammad said.
"As sell signals on technical indicators of lower timeframe charts are getting whipsawed—perhaps owing to excess liquidity—traders are advised to look only for long-side opportunities until some strong reversal signs are visible," he said.
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