Sensex begins 2021 with gains, Nifty closes above 14000 as benchmarks surge to fresh all-time highs

The first trading session of 2021 was not much different from the last few trading sessions of the previous year as Sensex and Nifty continued to climb higher in a similar fashion. S&P BSE Sensex now sits at 117 points higher at 47,868 points while Nifty was above 14,000 for the first time ever on closing. Midcap and Smallcap index outperformed the benchmarks. Volatility index was down 7%. Among sectoral indices, only Nifty Bank, Financial Services and Private Bank index closed with losses. 

Top gainers: ITC and TCS were the top gainers on Sensex, surging over 2% each. These were followed by Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, and State Bank of India, moving up over 1% each. BHEL and Cholamandalam Finance were the top gainers on BSE Midcap index. 

Laggards: ICICI Bank was the only Sensex constituent to fall over 1% on Friday. It was followed by HDFC Bank and Titan. JSW Energy and Castrol India were the top laggards on the BSE Midcap index. On the smallcap index, Ashiana Housing was down 5% followed by Borosil Renewables. 

Volatility comes lower: India VIX of the volatility index slipped 7.27% on Friday, as it slipped below 20 levels on the first day of trade in 2021.

GST Collection jump in December: GST Collection was reported at Rs 1.15 lakh crore in the month of December, hinting at a swift economic recovery.

What do the experts say?

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities –

“Markets ended in the Green on the First Day of the New Year buoyed by record GST collections and we saw a host of stocks buzzing around in the broader market weeks ahead of the Earnings Season. TCS led the rally with the Auto numbers providing the momentum as a number of companies announced  price hikes today.”

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial services –

“With a hope that 2021 will be a year of economic recovery, market is touching all-time highs on a daily basis. Stocks across sectors cheered with mid & small caps at the forefront. The combined effect of foreign inflows and real earnings growth can keep the market rallying going forward.”