Market HIGHLIGHTS: Sensex ends at record closing high, Nifty above 13,950 on F&O expiry day; HDFC, ICICI Bank lead

As 2020 draws to a close, the Nifty, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 are up 14.9%, 21.4% and 21.9 % respectively for the year. More importantly, the Nifty is up 83% from the March lows. This is a spectacular rally. As we welcome in 2021, it is hard to predict how the market will behave in 2021. The twists & turns in the pandemic, the vaccine, recovery in growth & earnings, the coming budget, monetary policy, the monetary stance of the Fed…. all will influence and impact the market. Investors may partially book some profit but remain invested in high-quality names, particularly in private sector banking, IT, telecom, pharma & consumer goods. An undesirable recent trend is a slight decline in SIPs. In a market like this, it is important to continue with SIPs: V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services