India's benchmark stock indices traded near their lifetime highs through midday on Monday, with shares of NTPC Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd. contributing the most.
At 12:05 p.m., the Nifty 50 traded 19.80 points, or 0.09%, higher at 22,398.20 after hitting a fresh record high of 22,440.90 at open. The Sensex rose 46.34 points, or 0.06%, to 73,852.49, near its lifetime high of 73,994.70 it hit on Saturday.
After a lacklustre month in February, we saw breakout momentum in the last three days, and this setup looks strong and robust, said Sudeep Shah, deputy vice president and head of technical & derivatives research at SBICAP Securities.
Shah sees 22,150–22,200 as support for the Nifty and 22,550–22,660 as resistance. His top picks among the Nifty 50 stocks are ICICI Bank Ltd. and Titan Ltd.
Bank Nifty charts indicate that till 46,800-46,900 support is guarded, the index can go up to 48,000, Shah said.
Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., NTPC Ltd., Power Grid Corp. Of India Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd., contributed the most to the gains.
Meanwhile, those of Infosys Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., ITC Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. capped the upside.
Most sectoral indices fell with Nifty Media falling the most. Nifty Energy, and Nifty Oil & Gas gained the most.
The broader markets were mixed, with the S&P BSE MidCap rising 0.26% while the S&P BSE SmallCap fell 0.70% during midday on Monday.
Ten out of 20 sectors compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced, while 10 sectors declined. S&P BSE Power rose the most.
The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the sellers. About 2,375 stocks declined, 1,422 rose, while 171 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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