Sensex ends above 73K mark for first time, Nifty at record high; IT shares lead gains

Benchmark Sensex closed above the 73,000 level for the first time on Monday. Nifty too scaled the 22,000 point peak amid a record breaking run powered by a rally in IT shares, and HDFC Bank. Market rose for the fifth consecutive session today as Sensex ended 759.49 points or 1.05 per cent to a lifetime closing high of 73,327.94.

During the day, the index rallied 833.71 points or 1.14 per cent to hit an all time intra day peak of 73,402.16. Nifty zoomed 202.90 points or 0.93 per cent to end at a new closing high of 22,097.45. During the day, it rose 221 points or 1 per cent to reach a lifetime intra day high of 22,115.55. A strong rally in IT shares Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech after better than expected Q3 results helped the indices scale fresh record high levels.

Oil & gas and energy sector shares also boosted the rally. On Sensex, Wipro rose over 6 per cent after the IT company's December quarter earnings beat estimates. Other major Sensex gainers were HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries, rising up to 2.90%.

Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Axis Bank were among the top Sensex losers, falling up to 2.34%. Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst, LKP Securities said, "The Nifty bulls maintained their momentum, propelling the index to new highs beyond the 22,000 mark.

The major support for the index is situated at the 21,800 level, and a breach below this would be essential to negate the prevailing trend. The next immediate upside targets for the index are positioned at 22,200/22,300 levels. Sustaining above these levels could potentially lead the index towards the 22,500 mark." Sensex zoomed 847.27 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 72,568.45 on Friday.

Nifty climbed 247.35 points or 1.14 per cent to settle at 21,894.55. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai settled in the green while Hong Kong ended marginally lower. European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended on a muted note on Friday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.29 per cent to $78.06 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 340.05 crore on Friday, according to exchange data..