FII Boost: Markets close at yet another high, pharma stocks zoom

Mumbai : Strong FII inflows, along with domestic political developments, sustained the bull run in the Indian stock markets on Wednesday, with the Sensex crossing a record high of 43,700 in initial trade.In addition, better-than-expected quarterly results, faster economic recovery as per high frequency data, and development of a Covid-19 prevention vaccine that has reached an advanced stage boosted buyers’ sentiments.Even, political developments in Bihar, where the NDA made a comeback to power also supported the northward movement.Besides, FII inflows on the BSE, the NSE and the MSEI in the capital market segment stood at Rs 6,207.19 crore.On Tuesday, the inflow was recorded at Rs 5,627.32 crore, whereas it had stood at Rs 4,548.39 crore on Monday.Last Friday, the markets received an inflow of Rs 4,869.87 crore and Rs 5,368.31 crore on Thursday.On a consolidated basis, FIIs till now in November have been net buyers of equities worth around Rs 20,000 crore.Accordingly, the key markets extended their winning streak for the eighth consecutive trading session and closed at new record high levels on Wednesday.On sector specific basis, pharma stocks were the major gainers of the day, while hospitals and aviation stocks also rallied.Consequently, the S&P BSE Sensex crossed the 43,700 mark during the initial trade to touch a record high of 43,708.47 points.The Sensex closed at 43,593.67, higher by 316.02 points, or 0.73 per cent, from its previous close of 43,277.65.
The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange closed at 12,749.15, higher by 118.05 points, or 0.93 per cent, from its previous close.”The Indian and Chinese armies have reportedly agreed for disengagement at the border – this news also helped the cause of the bulls,” said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.”Many Asian and emerging markets also closed higher for the second consecutive session, as hopes for a successful corona virus vaccine lifted expectations of a swift reopening of the global economy, which would help the heavily export-dependent economies.”Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said: “Global cues continue to be positive as investors favor sectors that have suffered most during the pandemic on hopes that a Covid-19 vaccine will turn the economy around.””On the domestic side, Nifty hit yet another record high driven by pharma and metal stocks, even though a dip in Reliance Industries limited gains. Tata Steel and Hindalco both gained 8 per cent each while Dr Reddy gained 4 per cent. Reliance dropped 4 per cent post reports that ‘Amazon.com’ has accused Future Group, which agreed to sell its retail business to RIL in August, of insider trading as it sought to block the deal.”He added that investors’ sentiments got a major boost after the cabinet approved Rs 2 lakh crore Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme for 10 manufacturing sectors including electronic goods, automobile and auto components, pharma, air conditioners, food processing industry, among others.