Indian shares start 2021 on all-time high; IT rises

Antony Waste Handling Cell

01/01/2021 05:52

By Anuron Kumar Mitra
    BENGALURU, Jan 1 (Reuters) - IT services stocks drove Indian
markets to a record high in the first trading session of 2021,
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  rose 0.34% to
14,029.70 by 0515 GMT on Friday and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex
 .BSESN  climbed 0.36% to 47,922.14.
    The Nifty gained 14.9% in 2020 and the Sensex added 15.75%,
both marking their best yearly performance since 2017. Both the
indexes recovered more than 86% from March lows, boosted by
liquidity support measures from global central banks and
progress on the COVID-19 vaccine front.
    "In spite of the market being heated up, foreign
institutional investment flows continue... risk-on sentiment is
prevailing, and money will keep pouring into markets like
India," said Aishvarya Dadheech, a fund manager at Ambit Asset
Management in Mumbai. "It is a very liquid market."
    Investors are eyeing a meeting of the Indian drug regulator
later in the day to consider approving AstraZeneca  AZN.L  and
Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JA14F
    The Nifty IT index  .NIFTYIT  was up 0.95%, with heavyweight
Tata Consultancy Services  TCS.NS  being the biggest boost to
the Nifty 50.   
    Among individual stocks, Mahindra and Mahindra  MAHM.NS 
rose 2.2% and was the top percentage gainer on the Nifty. 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  was up 0.66%. Indian
automakers will be reporting December sales numbers on Friday.
Tractor maker Escorts  ESCO.NS  rose 2.2% after reporting an 88%
surge in sales. Maruti Suzuki India  MRTI.NS  was up 0.8% after
reporting a 20% rise in sales.
    Municipal solid waste management company Antony Waste
Handling Cell  ANTO.NS  jumped nearly 40% in its market debut.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2JA0DJ
    Most markets across the world are closed for New Year's Day.

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