The equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty reached their fresh record highs on Monday, amid optimism in global markets and foreign fund inflows. Buying in index major Reliance Industries also fuelled the rally in equities.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 494.28 points or 0.67 per cent to settle at a new closing peak of 74,742.50. During the day, it zoomed 621.08 points or 0.83 per cent to reach a record intra-day high of 74,869.30. The NSE Nifty climbed 152.60 points or 0.68 per cent to 22,666.30. During the day, it jumped 183.6 points or 0.81 per cent to hit a lifetime high of 22,697.30.
From the Sensex basket, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, and Power Grid were the major gainers. Nestle, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Titan, HCL Technologies and Infosys were the laggards.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.26 per cent while the smallcap index dipped 0.06 per cent. The auto index climbed 1.65 per cent, oil & gas jumped 1.51 per cent, energy (1.24 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.14 per cent), realty (1.21 per cent), metal (1.10 per cent) and utilities (0.90 per cent).
Services, teck and IT were the laggards. A total of 266 stocks hit their 52-week high while 12 hit their 52-week low on the BSE. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Shanghai ended lower.
Rupee against dollar
The rupee settled on a flat note on Monday at 83.31 against the US dollar, as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.
Forex traders said investor sentiments got a boost as crude oil prices retreated from their elevated levels, but the strength of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on the local unit and restricted the uptick. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.27 against the greenback. The unit hit an intra-day high of 83.23 and a low of 83.33.
(With PTI inputs)
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