Sensex falls on profit-taking after hitting new record in race towards 60,000

Indian stock markets touched new highs on Friday, with the 30-stock benchmark BSE Sensex coming closer to the 60,000-mark in early trade amid investor euphoria that is now prompting many analysts to advise caution.

The Sensex hit a high of 59,737.32 in morning trade on Friday, up 1% from Thursday’s close. The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty 50 also touch a new record of 17,792.95.

Both indices cooled off subsequently and ended lower. The Sensex ended at 59,015.89, down 0.2% from Thursday's close, while the Nifty 50 ended at 17,585.15, down 0.25%.

The Sensex has soared 132% since crashing to 25,638.90 in March 2020 due to concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The non-stop rally has prompted many analysts to sound a note of caution and warn about a possible correction in coming weeks.

The new record comes barely two weeks after the Sensex climbed past 58,000 on September 3 and 57,000 just three days before.

Kotak, HDFC and Bajaj twins

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top gainer, ending 5.26% up. HDFC Bank rose 1.5% the Bajaj twins – Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance – climbed, too. Bajaj Finserv ended 0.65% higher after climbing more than 4%. Bajaj Finance closed just 0.2% higher after gaining 3% in early trade. Bajaj Auto, the group’s two-wheeler unit, climbed 0.6%.

Other financial stocks that ended higher include Axis Bank and HDFC Ltd.

Apart from Bajaj Auto, top carmaker Maruti Suzuki gained 1.1%. Bharti Airtel rose after the government announced a moratorium for telecom operators on outstanding payments.

Reliance Industries, India’s biggest company by market value, lost 1.55%. 

Tata Steel was the biggest loser, falling 3.6%. State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever and Sun Pharma were the other laggards.

Midcap, Smallcap indexes

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index ended 1.14% lower while the BSE SmallCap index fell 1.06%.

Most sectoral indices ended in the red. The only exceptions were the telecom and the bank indices.

The BSE Bankex gained 0.7% while the the BSE Telecom climbed 0.9%. 

The BSE Metals index fell the most, by 2.5%, dragged down by Tata Steel. It was followed by BSE Realty and Power indices, which were down by 2% and 1.6%, respectively.