IT stocks lead Sensex past 66,000 to new peak

The bull statue at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Led by gains in IT stocks, the benchmark equity indices scaled new highs on Friday with the S&P BSE Sensex crossing the 66,000 mark and the NSE Nifty-50 index surging past 19,560 at close.

The BSE Sensex gained 502 points, or 0.77%, to close at 66,060.90 points. Gains were led by Tata Consultancy Services (5.13%), Tech Mahindra (4.5%), Infosys (4.4%), HCL Tech (3.8%) and Wipro (2.69%).

The NSE Nifty-50 index gained 150.75 points, or 0.78%, to 19,564.50.

“Most sectors ended higher, wherein IT pack was the highlight, followed by metals and realty pack,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President, Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd. “The broader indices were also in sync and gained in the range of 1.2%-1.5%,” he added.

“It is a firm close but we need sustainability above 19,550 in Nifty for continuation of the up move. The prevailing buoyancy in global markets combined with rotational buying across sectors is favouring the same. We thus reiterate our positive view and suggest focusing on identifying quality stocks across sectors,” Mr. Mishra added.