The Nifty 50 scaled 15,000 for the first time as investors derived optimism from a drop in Covid-19 cases, the ongoing vaccination drive, recovering auto sales and better corporate earnings, fuelling the rally that began mid-last year.
The NSE benchmark hit an intra-day high of 15,014 at open on Friday, doubling from its March 2020-low in 219 sessions.
The 50-stock gauge had touched 7,511 on March 24 as the coronavirus pandemic roiled equity markets globally. But since then, the index has seen a one-way recovery as stimulus measures and hopes of a quicker-than-expected turnaround with a vaccine masked fears of mounting infections. Sustained inflows by foreign investors, who bet on India as the best investment destination among emerging market peers, too, aided the rally.
Since March-low, the index was back above 8,000 within two sessions. It stayed above 9,000 in late-April and scaled 10,000 and 11,000 in June and July, respectively.
The benchmark traded in a 1,000-point range over the next three months. A gush of foreign inflows in November took Nifty 50 past 12,000, helping it erase all the losses made in 2020. The index took only 13 sessions to close above 13,000 on Nov. 24.
On Feb. 1, 2021, the Nifty 50 posted its best budget-day gain since 1997 to close above 14,000. The next 1,000 points were gained in just four sessions.
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All the 50 Nifty constituents have rebounded from their lowest in March.
The rebound by points was led by heavyweights such as the HDFC twins, Reliance Industries Ltd. and technology bellwethers Infosys Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. Two private banks, a non-bank lender and an infrastructure conglomerate were other contributors.
