Sensex gains 458 points; Nifty settles at 14,790

Benchmark stocks on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, surged around one per cent to hit fresh record highs. The key domestic climbed amid positive global market cues. The Sensex closed above 50,250 mark while the Nifty settled near 14,800 level.

The Sensex gained 458.03 points, or 0.92 per cent, up at 50,255.75. The NSE Nifty also rose 142.10 points, or 0.97 per cent, to trade at 14,789.95. The Nifty Bank closed 490.55 points or 1.43 per cent, higher at 34,758.45.

The BSE Mid-Cap index appreciated 1.38 per cent and the BSE Small-Cap index closed 1.47 per cent up. During the current week, the Sensex and the Nifty skyrocketed around 8.5 per cent.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1,790 shares rose and 1,196 shares fell. On Nifty 50 index 40 shares advanced and 10 declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were IndusInd Bank (up 7.29 per cent), Power Grid (up 5.97 per cent), Divis Lab (up 4.66 per cent), Coal India (up 4.38 per cent) and Dr Reddy's (up 3.98 per cent). The top five losers were Shree Cement (down 1.64 per cent), UPL (down 1.51 per cent),UltraTech Cement (down 0.99 per cent), Maruti (down 0.91 per cent) and Grasim (0.83 per cent).

Home First Finance Company India closed at Rs 522.50 on the NSE at a premium of 0.86 per cent over the initial public offer price of Rs 518.

COVID-19

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 10,38,77,370 with 22,53,170 deaths. India reported 1,60,057 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,54,596 deaths while 1,04,62,631 patients have been discharged, data showed.

Japan's services sector

Japan's services sector shrank at the fastest pace in five months in January. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to a seasonally adjusted 46.1 from the prior month's 47.7, marking the lowest reading since August.

US Budget Reconciliation Bill

Mr Biden met with those lawmakers on Monday as congressional Democrats moved toward passing a reconciliation bill without bipartisan support. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki described the meeting as substantive and productive.

Quantitative-easing programme in Australia

Reserve Bank of Australia chief Philip Lowe praised the country's quantitative-easing programme and warned it would be premature to consider withdrawing monetary stimulus when global peers are extending theirs, and with domestic unemployment and inflation still far from the target