Benchmarks soar to new high, Sensex crosses 56K for 1st time

Update: 2021-08-27 17:46 GMT

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex climbed 175 points to close above the 56,000-mark for the first time on Friday, driven by strong buying in infrastructure, finance and pharma stocks despite lacklustre global cues.

Staging a smart rebound after a gap-down opening, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 175.62 points or 0.31 per cent higher at its new closing peak of 56,124.72.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty gained 68.30 points or 0.41 per cent to finish at a record 16,705.20.

UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 3.64 per cent, followed by L&T, Dr Reddy's, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, TCS, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Bank.

On the other hand, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Nestle India, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.07 per cent.

During the week, the Sensex gained 795.40 points or 1.43 per cent, while the Nifty advanced 254.70 points or 1.54 per cent.

All BSE sectoral indices closed in the green on Friday, led by capital goods (2.14 per cent), basic materials (1.69 per cent), industrials (1.58 per cent) and power (1.46 per cent).

The broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices spurted up to 1.04 per cent, outperforming the benchmark.

Global markets were steady ahead of a key speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell where he is expected to provide clues on the US central bank's timeline to taper its asset purchases programme.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.94 per cent to $71.74 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,974.48 crore, as per exchange data.

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