Sensex rallies nearly 500 pts to hit record peak; Nifty reclaims 12K

Mumbai: Market benchmark BSE Sensex zoomed nearly 500 points to hit its life-time high of 40,857.73 in afternoon session on Monday led by strong buying sentiment in metal, banking and telecom stocks amid positive cues from global equities.

After scaling its record peak, the 30-share index was trading 487.76 points, or 1.21 per cent, higher at 40,847.17. Similarly, the broader Nifty soared 136.80 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 12,051.20.

Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 5.69 per cent, followed by Tata Steel that rose 4.74 per cent, Vedanta 2.81 per cent, IndusInd Bank 2.49 per cent, HDFC 2.40 per cent, Maruti 2.20 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 2.12 per cent and Kotak Bank 1.95 per cent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank fell up to 3.24 per cent, ONGC 1.53 per cent, ITC 0.10 per cent and NTPC 0.04 per cent.

According to traders, domestic benchmarks followed global equities which were enthused by fresh optimism over a trade truce between the US and China amid reports that an initial deal may be signed by the end of this year.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading up to 1.50 per cent higher.

Stock exchanges in Europe also opened on a positive note.

On the currency front, the rupee appreciated marginally against the US dollar to 71.69 in early session.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.21 per cent to USD 62.50 per barrel.