Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 extended their northward march for another day, scaling fresh peaks before ending Thursday’s trading session at record-high closing levels.
The Sensex added as much as 666.25 points, or 0.78 per cent, to settle at 85,836.12. The index conquered a new peak of 85,930.43, just 70 points shy of 86,000, during intraday trade.
Nifty50 also joined the rally, scaling an all-time high of 26,250.90 before ending Thursday’s session with a gain of 211.90 points, or 0.81 per cent, at 26,216.05.
On the BSE Sensex, seven out of the 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex were trading in the red, with losses led by Larsen & Toubro (down 1.27 per cent), followed by NTPC, Power Grid Corp, Titan, and Bharti Airtel, while the top gainers were Maruti Suzuki India (up 4.49 per cent), followed by Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata Steel.
On the Nifty 50, Maruti Szuki India (up 4.36 per cent), Tata Motors, Hindalco Industries, Bajaj Finserv, and Mahindra & Mahindra were the top gainers, while Cipla (down 2.31 per cent), Divi’s Laboratories, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp, and and Larsen & Toubro, were the top drags.
Across sectors, the Metal index was the top gainer, climbing 1.47 per cent, followed by the Auto and IT indices, while Consumer Durables, Pharma, Healthcare and Realty were the top sectoral laggards.
The BSE SmallCap was down 0.54 per cent and the BSE MidCap was down 0.69 per cent.
Global Cues
The markets in the Asia-Pacific region rebounded on Thursday morning, with the Chinese markets expected to continue their upward momentum.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were trading at 19,336, ahead of the last close of 19,129.1. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.7 per cent in early trading, while the broader Topix climbed 1.2 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi led the region with a 1.77 per cent gain, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.68 per cent.
That apart, global stock indices mostly eased on Wednesday along with energy shares, while US Treasury yields rose as investors stuck to the view that the Federal Reserve will be able to create a soft landing for the US economy.
On Wall Street, the Dow and S&P 500 ended lower after hitting record highs in early trades, while Nasdaq was flat at close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.70 per cent, to 41,914.75, the S&P 500 dragged 0.19 per cent, to 5,722.26 and the Nasdaq Composite rose marginally by 0.04 per cent, to 18,082.21.
