Indian shares kick off 2021 with record closing highs

Antony Waste Handling Cell

01/01/2021 10:39

BENGALURU, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Indian shares closed the first
trading session of 2021 at record highs on Friday, led by the IT
services sector, as continued foreign fund inflows and
expectations of imminent COVID-19 vaccine roll-outs kept
investors bullish.
    The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index  .NSEI  ended up 0.26% at
14,018.50, marking its first close above the 14,000 level, while
the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex  .BSESN  firmed 0.25% to 47,868.98.
    The Nifty gained 14.9% in 2020 and the Sensex added 15.75%,
both recording their best yearly performance since 2017. The
indexes recovered more than 86% from March lows, boosted by
liquidity support measures from global central banks and
progress on COVID-19 vaccines.
    India's drug regulator is set to approve AstraZeneca  AZN.L 
and Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use at a
meeting later in the day, Reuters reported citing three sources
with knowledge of the matter.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JC064
    The Nifty IT index  .NIFTYIT  closed up 0.84%, and
heavyweight Tata Consultancy Services  TCS.NS  was the biggest
boost to the Nifty 50.   
    Among individual stocks, Mahindra and Mahindra  MAHM.NS 
closed up 1.6%. U.S. automaker Ford Motor  F.N  and Mahindra
have called off their automotive joint venture due to challenges
caused by the pandemic.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2JB295
    The Nifty Auto Index  .NIFTYAUTO  gained 0.86%, with Maruti
Suzuki India  MRTI.NS , tractor maker Escorts  ESCO.NS , and
automaker Ashok Leyland  ASOK.NS  rising between 0.6% and 3.8%
after reporting higher December sales.
    Municipal solid waste management company Antony Waste
Handling Cell  ANTO.NS  jumped 29.3% from its offering price of
315 rupees per share in its market debut. 
    Most markets across the world were closed for New Year's
Day.

 (Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((AnuronKumar.Mitra@thomsonreuters.com; +91 99863 58469;))