Sensex scales 64K-level for 1st time; Nifty climbs 19K-peak

Equity benchmark indices hit their lifetime highs on Wednesday, with Sensex reaching the record 64,000 mark and Nifty scaling the 19,000 level in intra-day trade, as fresh foreign fund inflows and a rally in the US and European markets bolstered investor sentiments.

Hectic buying in market heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Infosys added to the positive momentum, traders said.

Extending the previous day’s rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 499.39 points or 0.79 per cent to settle at its lifetime closing high of 63,915.42. During the day, the index jumped 634.41 points or 1 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 64,050.44.

Likewise, the NSE Nifty climbed 154.70 points or 0.82 per cent to end at a record high of 18,972.10 points. It zoomed 193.85 points or 1 per cent to reach its lifetime intra-day high of 19,011.25 during the session.

Tata Motors was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 2.38 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma Titan, Larsen & Toubro, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Maruti.

In contrast, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies and Wipro were the laggards.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.73 per cent and smallcap index gained 0.08 per cent.

All the indices ended in the green, with services rallying 2.35 per cent, capital goods jumping 1.14 per cent, power (1.02 per cent), healthcare (0.90 per cent), oil & gas (0.85 per cent), energy (0.83 per cent), metal (0.80 per cent) and industrials (0.70 per cent).

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled in the green while Seoul and Shanghai ended lower.

European markets were trading in the positive territory in early deals.

The US markets ended significantly higher in the overnight trade on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.83 per cent to USD 72.86 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,024.05 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.agencies