Nifty50 hits 18,000 for first time. Here are seven highlights to know

The Indian economy may still be emerging from the jolt that it was dealt by the lockdowns in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but the stock markets seem to be in the sixth gear. 

Just as the country gets into the festival season, with Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas and the New Year around the corner, benchmark stock indices have hit new highs. 

The National Stock Exchange’s Nifty 50 index hit the 18,000-mark for the first time on Monday. The BSE Sensex, too, scaled a new record high and touched 60,442.53 in intra-day trade.

Here are seven key highlights of the day:

1) The surge was led by heavyweight Reliance Industries Ltd as well as banking stocks.

2) RIL gained 1% after it said it has acquired Norwegian renewable energy company REC Solar Holdings for $771 million and also a 40% stake in local solar company Sterling and Wilson Solar.

3) The indexes hit new peaks despite weakness in the IT pack, after India’s most valuable IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported disappointing numbers. TCS was down 6%, taking the IT index down more than 4%. 

4) Apart from TCS, the top losers include Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Shree Cement.

5) The Nifty auto index was up 2.5% on expectations of a demand uptick in the coming festive season. Tata Motors, which owns the UK’s Jaguar Land Rover, was the top gainer, rising 8.5% after it said that JLR’s orders were at record levels. The stock has risen 23% this month, on top of a 16% rise in September.

6) Apart from Tata Motors, other top gainers were Coal India, NTPC, Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ONGC, Eicher Motors and Bajaj Finserv. 

7) The rupee remained weak, falling 17 paisa against the US dollar to go down to Rs 75.16 to the greenback.