Markets scale new peaks; Sensex jumps 182 points
Rising for the fourth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex jumped 182 points to end at its fresh lifetime peak on Tuesday, tracking gains in index majors Reliance Industries, TCS and Infosys amid persistent foreign fund inflows. After touching a record intra-day high of 45,742.23, the 30-share BSE index climbed 181.54 points or 0.40 per cent to finish at 45,608.51.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose for the sixth consecutive day, up 37.20 points or 0.28 per cent to 13,392.95 -- its new lifetime closing high. It touched its intra-day record of 13,435.45 in early trade.
UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by TCS, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech, Infosys and Kotak Bank.
On the other hand, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, ONGC and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
"Domestic equities continued to defy weak global markets by registering gains. Financials (mainly supported by PSU banks), IT and Reliance Industries supported market today, while profit bookings were seen in pharma and metal packs," said Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.
Continued foreign portfolio investment flows remained a dominant factor and given the consistent weakening of dollar along with increased possibility of new fiscal stimulus, domestic equities are expected to continue getting support from FPIs in the near term, he added.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 3,792.06 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a negative note in early deals.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 0.35 per cent to USD 48.62 per barrel.
