Sensex crosses 49,000-mark for the first time, Nifty tops 14,400

Mumbai: Equity indices opened higher on Monday with the benchmark BSE sensex breaching the 49,000-mark for first time ever, led by gains in IT stocks amid largely positive trend in global equities and massive FPI inflow.

The 30-share BSE index scaled an intra-day high of 49,252 in early trade; while the broader NSE Nifty was trading above 14,400.

Top gainers in the sensex pack included Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra and M&M with their shares rising as much as 3.45 per cent.

While Ultra Cemco, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance were the major losers, falling up tp 0.99 per cent.

Domestic markets continued their record-setting run in the week gone by and marked their new peaks almost on a daily basis as they did in the past few weeks, riding on positive global trends, news on the Covid-19 vaccine front and economic recovery optimism.

According to experts, the focus of the market has shifted to third quarter earnings.

The county's largest IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday reported a 7.2 per cent jump in December quarter net to Rs 8,701 crore on a consolidated basis, and seemed to suggest the worst is behind by projecting double-digit revenue growth for FY22.

"Going ahead, global cues will be watched closely for further trend in the market. Investors would also track the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in India post the dry-run, December quarterly results and the Union Budget on February 1. This week lots of macro data will be out including inflation and industrial output," Siddhartha Khemka, head - retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd told news agency PTI.

Meanwhile, Asian shares took a breather on Monday while treasury yields were at 10-month highs as "trillions" in new US fiscal stimulus plans were set to be unveiled this week.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 6,029.83 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.