Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rose by 152 points to close at its fresh lifetime high on Tuesday on the back of gains in index majors HDFC, Bharti Airtel and Infosys amid positive trends in the global markets.
The 30-share index closed 151.81 points or 0.28 per cent higher at its lifetime peak of 54,554.66, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 21.85 points or 0.13 per cent to 16,280.10.
Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 4 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, HDFC, Kotak Bank, M&M and HCL Tech.
On the other hand, Tata Steel, NTPC, ITC and PowerGrid were among the laggards.
However, financials (ex- PSU banks) continued to support market and arrested sharp fall, he said, adding that IT stocks remained in focus as high volatility in market provided an edge to safer bet like IT companies.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended with gains, while Seoul was in the red. Equities in Europe were largely trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.03 per cent to $69.75 per barrel
Sectorally, BSE telecom, teck, IT, bankex and energy indices rose up to 2.07 per cent, while metal, basic materials, realty, utilities and power indices fell up to 2.27 per cent.
Broader midcap and smallcap indices fell up to 2.05 per cent.
A strong rebound in midcap and small cap stocks in recent months made investors to book profit against the backdrop of rising Delta variant coronavirus cases in various parts of the world.
Extending losses for the second straight session, the rupee on Tuesday fell by 17 paise to end at 74.43 against the US currency due to a stronger dollar in the overseas markets.
The rupee opened on a negative note at 74.40 per dollar as against its previous close of 74.26 at the interbank foreign exchange market. It hovered in the range of 74.33 to 74.46 per dollar during the day before closing at 74.43.
The domestic currency has lost 28 paise in the two trading sessions to Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.10 per cent to 93.04.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.98 per cent to $69.72 per barrel.
Forex traders said foreign fund inflows and positive domestic equities helped limit the depreciation bias of the local unit.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Monday as they purchased shares worth Rs 211.91 crore, according to the
exchange data.