Shares of power, IT, tech, utilities and capital goods firmed up
Continuing the winning run for the third straight day, Sensex rose nearly 107 points to finish at an over two-month high of 27,247.16 and Nifty breached the key 8,400-mark -- fuelled by power, IT and banking stocks rally, but the gains were restricted by battered pharma counters.
Shares of power, IT, tech, utilities and capital goods firmed up on good buying enquiries, while those of pharma, FMCG, auto and realty declined on selling pressure.
Among the laggards, pharma stocks were worst hit following US President-elect Donald Trump's strong remarks on pricing of medicines, indicating tougher working environment for Indian drug firms going ahead in the US.
Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd, said, "Markets opened the day on a firm note but could not sustain gains, as Trump's comments during yesterday's press conference held pharma stocks back.
With key macros as well as Q3 numbers expected to be announced shortly, markets were not in a mood to chase prices higher anyway."
The Sensex opened higher at 27,171.66 and hovered in a range of 27,166.69 and 27,278.93 before ending at a two-month high of 27,247.16, showing a gain of 106.75 points, or 0.39 per cent.
The 30-scrip bundle has gained 520.61 points, or 1.95 per cent, in three days. The Sensex had last seen this level on November 10, 2016, when it ended at 27,517.68.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also rose by 26.55 points, or 0.32 per cent, to close at a two-month high of 8,407.20. It had also ended at 8,525.75 on November 10 last year.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,116.15 crore yesterday while foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs 627.30 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.