Sensex, Nifty end at record closing levels; is there more steam left in this rally?

Domestic equity markets ended the day’s trade at their highest ever closing levels on Monday. S&P BSE Sensex now sits at 52,154 points while the broader 50-stock NSE Nifty closed at 15,314 — both just shy of their all-time highs. Banking and finance stocks were among the top gainers on Sensex, led by Axis Bank’s 5.88% rally. This was followed by ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, and State Bank of India. Dr Reddy’s, TCS, and Tech Mahindra were the top drags. India VIX or the volatility index dropped 2.57% to end at 21.4 levels. Bank Nifty ended at 37,306 after surging 3.32% during the day.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities-

“Indian benchmark equity indices began the new trading week on a strong note on Feb 15 – up for the third consecutive day, driven by outperformance from private financials as well as PSU Banks. Nifty keeps rising with up-gaps reflecting pent up buying partly driven by encouraging Q3 numbers. However selective buying in sectors means that the overall volumes are measured and advance-decline ratio also is either flat or negative (like on Feb 15). The next resistance for the Nifty is 15470 while 15243 could provide support.”

Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities-

“Based on the daily chart, Nifty / Sensex are moving towards 15500/52500 levels with minor resistance at 15360/52250 level and on the downside, 15270/51850 and 15100/51200 would be the big supports. Our strategy is to reduce weak long positions and we need to make partial profits in positions where there are abnormal gains. Along with financial, the focus should also be on auto stocks.”

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities-

“Bulls powered Indices to new highs as FPI flows till date in February far exceeded January flows. Buoyed by Q3 earnings and CPI inflation, the day witnessed a ferocious rally in Financials backed by positive global cues and return of the elusive capex cycle.”

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services-

“Optimistic global sentiment & improving corporate earnings are leading an uptrend in the market dictated by banking and realty stocks. Mild consolidation is noticed in Pharma & IT, but Mid-caps continue to beat the broad market. WPI inflation soared to 2.03% in January compared to 1.22% in December which is positive for the manufacturing sector showing upside in demand. Food inflation dipped cooling CPI to 4.06% in January from 4.59% in December 2020, moderation in inflation is in-line with the RBI views, positive for the domestic economy.”

Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments-

“The Nifty continued its strong form and closed almost at the high of the day. We should be heading to 15500 soon where we could face the next level of resistance. The stop level has been raised to 15100 and hence traders can build fresh positions for a new target of 15500.”

Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking-

“Markets started the week on a robust note and made a new record high, largely led by firm global cues and encouraging domestic macro-economic data. The benchmark opened gap up and hovered in a range for most of the session however renewed buying in the last hour helped the index to close around the day’s high. Markets have resumed the trend after a week-long consolidation phase and we are now eyeing the 15,500 in Nifty. With no major events, participants should keep a close watch on global markets for cues. Also, maintain focus on the selection of stocks and avoid a contrarian approach.”