Sensex Edges Higher By 120 Points, Nifty Holds Above 17,200 As IT, Pharma Shares Gain
Nifty IT index up 0.9 per cent and Pharma index up 0.55 per cent
Shares fell on Thursday, led by gains in the information technology and pharma sectors, as the country recorded the biggest jump in daily coronavirus cases in a month.
At 12:57 pm, the NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.21 per cent at 17,248 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.21 per cent at 57,9292.45.
Ajay Bodke, an independent market analyst, said, “The strong growth dynamic in the Indian IT sector and the position pharma enjoys will ensure that money moves towards these sectors until there is clarity on Omicron’s fears.”
The Nifty IT index gained 0.9 per cent and the Pharma index rose 0.55 per cent. The IT index has risen for the fifth consecutive week and has gained over 59 per cent so far this year.
Mohit Nigam, Head of Portfolio Management Services, Hem Securities, said, “We believe the IT sector to undergo a multi-year upcycle due to strong demand environment, strong deal momentum, healthy deal pipeline and acceleration of digitalization across sectors. Is.”
Indian stocks have retreated over seven per cent from their record peak hit in October due to high valuations and concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 across the world. India recorded a daily increase of 13,154 in COVID-19 cases.
“The hospitalization rate from Omicron is very low,” Bodke said.
Among individual stocks, RBL Bank fell eight per cent after a report said India’s banking regulator’s intervention in the private lender was due to a Rs 3 billion write-off.
RBL said over the weekend that its managing director and chief executive officer has gone on medical leave and the Reserve Bank of India has appointed an executive on the lender’s board.
