Sensex rallies 347 points to end at fresh peak; Nifty tops 13,350 for first time

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Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 347 points to end at its fresh lifetime peak on Monday, tracking gains in index majors HDFC, HUL and ICICI Bank amid unabated foreign fund inflows. After touching a record intra-day high of 45,458.92, the 30-share BSE index settled 347.42 points or 0.77 per cent higher at 45,426.97.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 97.20 points or 0.73 per cent to an all-time closing high of 13,355.75. It touched its record intra-day peak of 13,366.65 in early trade.

Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by HUL, HDFC, ITC, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Tech Mahindra, L&T and Asian Paints.

On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Nestle India, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

"Domestic equities remained resilient and defied the weak global markets," said Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Strong buying was seen across the pack towards the end of the day and thus Nifty gained for the fifth consecutive day. Volatility index once again declined reflecting little risk of ongoing rally, he added.

"Positive progress on COVID-19 vaccination and RBI's strong commitment to support economy recovery are supporting market rally. Further, increased visibility of fiscal stimulus in the US with weak dollar may continue to attract FPIs into emerging markets including India," he stated.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended in the red, while Seoul finished with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were largely trading with losses in early deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 1.02 per cent to USD 48.75 per barrel.