Sensex, Nifty pause rally near record highs; Bajaj twins gain

Benchmark stock market indices opened Friday’s trading session on a negative note after ending the previous session with strong gains.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 134.05 points to 82,828.66 at 10:28 am, while the NSE Nifty50 fell 44.30 points to 25,344.60.
However, other broader market indices were mixed, with smallcap and midcap stocks registering gains.
Metal and realty stocks were among the top performers, while banking and financial shares fell.
The top five gainers on the Nifty50 were Wipro, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel and Grasim.
On the other hand, the top losers were SBI Life, ITC, Asian Paints, Divi’s Lab and Adani Ports.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “Yesterday’s sharp up move which saw the Nifty spurt by 1.9% was a purely technical move triggered by short covering on the expiry day. It is important to understand that the 400 point rally in the Nifty happened after 2pm.”
“Call writers trapped by the unexpected up move resorted to frenzied covering, pushing up prices sharply. Since the bears were badly mauled, the market is in bull grip now. The situation can change in a few days,” he noted.

“Fundamentally strong largecaps like Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC, HCL Tech, Infosys and TCS have the potential to take the market forward. But higher levels can attract selling by DIIs and profit booking by individual investors.”