Sensex Breaches 44,000 Mark After Positive Development Over Covid-19 Vaccine Reported

According to experts, the upbeat global markets combined with the news of successful vaccine trails is helping the benchmark to inch higher with every passing day.

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New Delhi: Indian equity benchmark indices closed higher for the third consecutive session on Tuesday to end at all-time record high levels. According to market participants, the recent rally is primarily on the back of positive news related to coronavirus vaccines.  The 30-share Sensex gained 315 points or 0.72% to close at 43,952.71. During intra-day trading, the benchmark Sensex breached the 44,000-mark to touch a high of 44,161.16. The gains in the Sensex were led by stocks like HDFC Bank, HDFC, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance and L&T among others. Meanwhile, the broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) settled the day at 12,874.20, up 94 points or 0.74%. The gains on Tuesday were seen across sectors as more than 1,500 stocks gained ground on BSE, as against 1,271 declines. The broader indices like BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap gained 1.08% and 0.88%, respectively. Elsewhere in Asia, the equity benchmarks of Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, and Indonesia all gained ground along with the overnight US markets. Wall Street rallied to a new high after US-based biotechnology major Moderna said that its vaccine was found to be 94.5% effective against COVID-19 in the phase three trials. Earlier, German biotech major BioNTech, which is developing a vaccine along with Pfizer, had said that its vaccine was found to be 90% effective in a large-sized trial. This assumes significance as globally more than 55 million people have been affected by the virus with the death toll pegged at nearly 1.4 million. India is the second-worst affected country after the US, with nearly 8.9 million people who have tested positive. As many as 1.3 lakh people in India have died due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, market participants believe that while the indices have gained significant ground in the recent past, there could be some amount of consolidation though the underlying sentiment remains strong. “The upbeat global markets combined with the news of successful vaccine trails is helping the benchmark to inch higher with every passing day,” said Ajit Mishra, Vice President - Research, Religare Broking. “However, given the sharp up move recently, markets may see some consolidation however the bias would remain on the positive side. Further, with earnings season largely over, we expect global cues to dictate the market trend ahead,” he added. Foreign institutional investors continue to remain bullish on India with Tuesday’s net buying pegged at over Rs.4,900 crore. In the current month, foreign investors have bought shares worth over Rs.31,000 crore. “Asian stocks held gains and moved further into record territory on Tuesday after US benchmarks were pepped up by news of another promising coronavirus vaccine,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities while adding that European stock markets moved lower on Tuesday, amidst caution over the economic outlook post the restrictions to combat the COVID-19 surge despite the latest positive news regarding the development of a vaccine. WATCH | Bharat Biotech claims to provide single-dose vaccine by next year