Sensex jumps over 350 points to hit 61,000 for first time; Nifty tops 18,200

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Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 350 points in opening trade on Thursday to cross the 61,000-mark for the first time, driven by gains in index heavyweights Infosys, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries amid a positive trend in global markets. After touching a record of 61,159.48 in the opening session, the 30-share Sensex was trading 356.73 points or 0.59 per cent higher at 61,093.78.

Similarly, the Nifty surged 119.75 points or 0.66 per cent to a new intra-day record of 18,281.50.

L&T was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by Infosys, SBI, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Maruti, ITC and Titan. On the other hand, HCL Tech, TCS, M&M, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the 30-share index settled 452.74 points or 0.75 per cent higher at 60,737.05, taking its winning run to the fifth consecutive day, and Nifty rallied 169.80 points or 0.94 per cent to 18,161.75. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market, as they purchased shares worth Rs 937.31 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.

"Strong results from Infosys, Wipro and Mindtree indicate that the market disappointing results from TCS was a one-off. Even though high attrition is a challenge for the sector, strong deal wins and robust demand are clear positives," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

IT is likely to resume its leadership position since the prospects of the sector look bright for the next many years on the back of accelerating digitisation by businesses globally, he said, adding that the strong performance of HDFC Bank indicates good Q2 results and the banking major joining the bull rally.

Globally, the US FOMC minutes indicate that tapering is on course, possibly starting November and ending by mid-2022. This is a known event, hence, markets are likely to discount it before the actual announcement, he noted.

"Since there are no known triggers for a sharp correction in the short run and the market momentum continues to be strong, the exuberant retail investors are likely to drive the markets further up even though seasoned investors are worried about the excessive valuations," he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with strong gains in mid-session deals. Stock exchanges on Wall Street too ended on a positive note in the overnight session. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.61 per cent to USD 83.69 per barrel.