Nifty crosses 14,000-mark for the first time ever

Mumbai: The NSE Nifty 50 benchmark crossed the 14,000-mark for the first time for a brief period on Thursday morning, reflecting the culmination of recovery in domestic markets in the past few months after a slump due to the coronavirus pandemic through most part of 2020.

The benchmark rose to an all-time high of 14,010.5, while S&P BSE Sensex rose 119.34 points to touch a record high of 47,865.56 after a flat start.  

This rally could be driven by investors' optimism around vaccine approvals and the start of inoculation drives against the coronavirus in countries including the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, China and Russia. Markets are also cheering as US President Donald Trump signed the Covid-19 stimulus package worth $900 billion after much delay, which extends unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.

Traders were also wary of the expiration of December 2020 futures and options contracts today, December 31, 2020.

At the time of filing this copy, the Nifty 50 was at 13,999.30 and the Sensex was at 47,828.53.