The bullish momentum continued on Dalal Street for second straight session as investor sentiment got a boost after the government announced sharply higher capital expenditure plan and renewed its focus on infrastructure development on Tuesday. The Sensex rose as much as 502 points and Nifty 50 index reclaimed its important psychological level of 17,700 at the day's highest level.
"Nifty is likely to witness positive move during the day. On technical grounds, Nifty has an immediate resistance at 17,680. If Nifty closes above that, further upside can be expected towards 17,770-17,880 mark. On the flip side 17,500-17,420 will act as strong support levels. It’s a stock specific market trade calls with strict stop loss," brokerage firm Nirmal Bang said in a note to its clients.
With a focus on job creation, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of measures to push infrastructure spending. However, the highlight was the lack of big bang tax sops and introduction of taxation on cryptos.
Meanwhile, buying was visible across the board as all the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the Nifty Private Bank index's 1.6 per cent gain. Nifty PSU Bank, Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Media and Realty indices also rose between 1-1.5 per cent.
Mid- and small-cap shares were also witnessing buying interest as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.85 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index climbed 1.5 per cent.
Eicher Motors was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 3.15 per cent to Rs 2,707. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Power Grid and HDFC Life also rose between 1.4-3 per cent.
On the flipside, Tech Mahindra fell over 3 per cent to Rs 1,457 after its net profit rose marginally to Rs 1,368.50 crore un December quarter versus Rs 1,338.70 crore in the previous quarter.
Britannia Industries, Adani Ports and UltraTech Cement were also among the notable losers.
The overall market breadth was extremely positive as 2,110 shares were advancing while 698 were declining on the BSE.
