Nifty hits a fresh record high; Bajaj Auto, Adani Ent, Wipro, SBI Life hit 52-week highs

Stock Markets Today

The benchmark index Nifty 50 hit a fresh lifetime high at 22,135.40, with auto, pharma and consumer durables sectors leading the gains.

At 11.18 am, the Sensex was up 296.86 points or 0.41 percent at 72,723.50, and the Nifty was up 101.00 points or 0.46 percent at 22,141.70. About 2,170 shares advanced, 1,162 declined and 110 were unchanged.

Eight companies that are constituents in the Nifty 50 index hit a fresh 52-week high in trade as well.  These are Bajaj Auto, Adani Enterprises, Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Maruti, Adani Ports, Wipro and SBI Life.

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In the broader market, all indices were trading in the green, while the fear gauge India VIX soared 5.14 percent to 15.99 levels.

The midcap and smallcap indices surged in tandem with the frontlines indices, registering gains of up to 0.65 percent.

Bank Nifty traded higher by almost 200 points at around 46,572 levels, with Bandhan Bank, ICICI Bank and AU leading the gains.

“There is tremendous investor confidence among domestic investors. Even when FPIs are selling occasionally like in the months of October and November, domestic investors are showing confidence in the market, backed by fundamentals,” said Nilesh Shah, CEO, Kotak MF to CNBC-TV18.

Shah added that the earnings growth during the third quarter of the current fiscal year, better governance compared to peers, and sound market strength - bearing a few pockets of exuberance - are encouraging further participation.

Largecaps look far better compared to mid and smallcaps on a risk adjusted basis, he said.

An important takeaway from the the third quarter results is the improving profitability of India Inc. EBITDA and profit after tax are growing impressively even while sales growth is average, said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

In banking, there is impressive credit growth and improving profitability. PSU banks are outperforming private sector banks due to low valuations, which continue to be fair even after the recent run-up in prices, he said.

Analysts advised investors to exercise caution  while chasing mid and smallcaps, which are rising sharply without fundamentals. Investors should focus on stocks with strong fundamentals for steady and good returns, they said.