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Sensex Up Over 200 Points, Nifty Hits Record High As Unlocking Begins

Sensex Up Over 200 Points, Nifty Hits Record High As Unlocking Begins

The domestic stock markets have extended their intra-day gains and are trading at the highs of the day, with the Nifty hitting fresh record, as Covid curbs have been eased in major metros such as Delhi and Mumbai. As of 2:20 pm, the BSE Sensex is trading at 52,339.25, higher by 242.35 points or 0.47 per cent and the NSE Nifty is at 15,765.99, up 94.60 points or 0.61 per cent. All the sectoral indices are trading in the green, with the exception of financial services.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices, with the BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap indices jumping 0.8 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.

In the currency markets, the rupee surged 12 paise to 72.87 against the US dollar following weakness in the dollar overseas and positive trend in the domestic equities.

Meanwhile, Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Mrs Bectors Food Specialities will declare their Q4 numbers during the day.

On the stock-specific front, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Shree Cements and NTPC were the top gainers on the NSE, rising 3-6 per cent each. L&T rose 2 per cent to Rs 1,569.75 after L&T Construction secured contracts for its various businesses.

And shares of yoga guru Ramdev promoted - Ruchi Soya - were locked in a five per cent upper circuit at Rs 1,254.05 for the third day in a row after the company forayed into nutraceuticals under joint brand name of Patanjali - Nutrela.

On the other hand, financials were trading weak. Bajaj Finance fell as much as 5.2 per cent to top the gainers on the NSE as the company, in its mid-quarter update for the first quarter of current financial year presented post market hours on Friday, said that its B2B and auto finance businesses were most affected by the second wave of Covid-19 and consequent lockdowns across the country. Bajaj Finserv and HDFC were the other significant losers on the NSE.