Key equity indices the Sensex and the Nifty extended their winning run for the third straight session on December 24 amid positive global cues as reports said Britain and the European Union had reached a free-trade agreement.
A Reuters report said Britain and the European Union were on the cusp of striking a narrow trade deal as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a late-night conference call with his senior ministers.
The Indian market opened in the green and traded with gains throughout the session, with supports led by Reliance Industries along with bank and financial heavyweights such as HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The Sensex closed 529 points, or 1.14 percent, higher at 46,973.54, while the Nifty settled at 13,749.25, gaining 148 points, or 1.09 percent.
Mid and smallcaps underperformed their large peers. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices closed 0.06 percent and 0.59 percent up, respectively.
The overall market-capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE listed firms rose to Rs 185.18 lakh crore from Rs 183.66 lakh crore in the previous session, making investors richer by Rs 1.5 lakh crore in a single day.
During the last three sessions, market benchmarks have logged gains of a percent every day. However, due to a massive loss on December 21, the Sensex and the Nifty ended the week almost flat.
The market is closed on December 25 for Christmas.
"Ahead of a long weekend and a tranche of expected rural stimulus, the bulls were in complete control buoyed by a stellar listing of Bector Foods. Financials & pharmaceuticals led the rally, while investors bought into insurers and consumer durable names across the broader market," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said the government's plan to get logistics ready to vaccinate frontline health workers in the first phase boosted investor sentiments, while momentum in European markets on hopes of a Brexit deal also helped Indian indices to trade higher.
Sectors and stocks
Most sectoral indices ended in the green but the IT pack failed to perform. BSE energy rose over 2 percent while banking, telecom, metal, financial, oil & gas and pharma indices rose more than a percent each. BSE IT index closed 0.59 percent lower.
More than 220 stocks, including Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nestle India and TCS, hit their 52-week highs on BSE.
Majesco, Reliance Infrastructure, Lyka Labs, Ankit Metal & Power and Tanla Platforms were among 360 stocks to hit their upper circuits on BSE.
A volume spike of over 4,000 percent was seen in the stock of SAIL, while the stock of Sun TV saw a volume spike of more than 3,500 percent. The stocks of SBI Life and Adani Enterprises saw a volume spike of 200 percent.
Vedanta, Ambuja Cements and Tata Motors were among the stocks that witnessed long buildup, while Vodafone Idea, Bharat Forge and PVR were among the stocks that witnessed short buildup.
Technical view
The Nifty maintained the bullish momentum for the third consecutive session and closed the day at 13,749 with gains of more than one percent, forming an inside bar kind of candle pattern on the daily chart.
As per Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, the index reached its upper band of resistance which was at 13,775.
"If the index manages to sustain above the said level, then we may see the extension in the rally, otherwise, we may see some profit-booking in the index. Support for the Nifty is near 13,680-13,600 zone," Singre said.
The Nifty formed a Dragonfly Doji pattern on the weekly chart.
Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist–Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in, pointed out despite a robust recovery from an intra-week low of 13,131 level, a Dragonfly Doji on the weekly charts is hinting at impending weakness, as this formation is usually seen around potential turning points.
"Some sort of consolidation or profit-booking in the next session can’t be ruled out, though the short-term weakness in the market should be confirmed below 13,626 level," Mohammad said.
"In case the bulls manage to push the index beyond 13,777, then the next target shall be 13,990. For the time being, traders will be better off by booking profits and retaining a neutral stance in the next session," he said.
Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
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