Sensex, Nifty end flat at new peaks

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty eked out gains in volatile trade to settle at record high levels on Tuesday, extending their gaining streak to the third day on the back of buying in Tata Motors and HDFC Bank. Despite heavy volatility, the combined market valuation (mcap) of all BSE-listed companies hit the $5.50-trillion (Rs460.91 lakh crore) milestone for the first time. The 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 99.56 points or 0.12 per cent at 81,455.40 -- its all-time closing high -- with 16 of its components advancing and 14 ending lower. The index opened higher and jumped 459.43 points or 0.56 per cent to hit an intra-day high of 81,815.27. The NSE Nifty edged up 21.20 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at an all-time closing high of 24,857.30. During the day, it surged 135.65 points or 0.54 per cent to 24,971.75. The index hit a low of 24,798.65.

“The domestic market ended flat, due to by profit-booking at higher levels. However, the expectation of Dovish comments from the US Fed and BoE in the upcoming policy meetings this week is supporting the optimism,” Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge jumped 0.88 per cent and the midcap index climbed 0.27 per cent. During the day, both indices hit their all-time high level. Among the indices, Utilities surged 1.97 per cent, Power bounced 1.49 per cent, Consumer durables rallied 1.15 per cent, oil & gas by 0.73 per cent and consumer discretionary by 0.72 per cent).

“Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, reversing a rebound from the prior session as sentiment remained on the edge before interest rate decisions from the Bank of Japan, Bank of England and the Federal Reserve in the coming days. European shares opened higher on Tuesday, boosted by gains in technology and oil stocks, and after the euro-area economy grew more than expected in the second quarter, easing fears about the pace of an economic recovery,” added Deepak Jasani, head (retail research) at HDFC Securities.

Mcap at record $5.50 trn

The market capitalization (mcap) of BSE-listed companies hit the $5.50-trillion (Rs460.91 lakh cr) milestone for the first time on Tuesday. The mcap rose 0.99 lakh crore to Rs4,60,91,445.34 crore. Indian capital market reached $5-trn mark on last May 21