FINAL TRADE: Indices settle at fresh closing peaks led by IT stocks; Nifty 3 pts shy of 22,100, Sensex jumps 759 pts

Stock market today: The bulls were in full control of the market on Monday, January 15, from the word go. A surge in technology shares after better-than-expected results by the IT giants for the December quarter (Q3 FY24) and a rally in financial stocks helped the benchmark indices scale new heights during the session. It was the market's fifth consecutive session of gains.

During the day, the 50-share index Nifty hit an all-time high of 22,115.55 before settling at a fresh closing peak of 22,097.45, up 202.9 points, or 0.93 per cent. The 50-scrip barometer crossed the 22,100 mark for the first time in intraday trade.

The S&P BSE Sensex also scaled a record high of 73,402.16 points in the intraday session. The index eventually ended at 73,327.94, up 759.49 points, or 1.05 per cent. The high-beta Nifty Bank index, whose 12 constituents include SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, finished the day 448.5 points, or 0.94 per cent, higher at 48,158.3. 

The 10-member Nifty IT index closed at 37,201.95, up 680.25 points or 1.86 per cent following better-than-expected results from Wipro and HCLTech, signalling stability in demand last week.

In addition, Wipro, ONGC, HCLTech, and Infosys were among the top gainers in the Nifty basket, which ended with up to 6 per cent gains. On the other hand, HDFC Life, Bajaj Twins, Hindalco, and Eicher Motors were among the top losers, down nearly 4-1 per cent.

In the broader market, the Nifty SmallCap 100 ended at a record level of 15,610.5, up 0.42 per cent whereas the Nifty MidCap 100 settled at a record peak of 47,837.95, up 0.68 per cent.

"The market gained momentum, led by the uptick in the IT index and the growing optimism about increased discretionary spending and strong deal wins," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The US bond yield edged lower as market participants bet on the FED easing cycle, which is expected to start in March. Investors are likely to take a more measured approach due to the release of Chinese GDP and UK inflation data this week," Nair added.

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