Sensex, Nifty up for 3rd session, scale fresh peaks

Mumbai: Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for the third straight session and ended at their fresh all-time high levels on Wednesday in tandem with Asian peers and buying in Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 620.73 points or 0.80 per cent to settle at a new closing peak of 78,674.25. During the day, it rallied 705.88 points or 0.90 per cent to hit a fresh all-time high of 78,759.40. The Nifty went up by 147.50 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at a record closing peak of 23,868.80. Intra-day, it surged 168.6 points or 0.71 per cent to hit the fresh lifetime high of 23,889.90.

In the past three days of rally, investors’ wealth have risen by Rs2.53 lakh crore. The market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed companies on Wednesday rose by Rs1.26 lakh cr to Rs437.02 lakh cr or $5.23 trillion.

“The domestic market hit a new peak, bolstered by a rally in large-cap stocks, where the valuation is relatively fair. In contrast, mid- and small-cap stocks saw profit-taking due to valuation concerns. Currently, the financials & consumption stocks are catching up driven by improved balance sheets, a strong GDP growth forecast, and softening inflation. Global market sentiments reflected similar trends, with a consensus on imminent rate cuts,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

Among the 30 Sensex companies, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, NTPC and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers. Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and JSW Steel were among the laggards. In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.15 per cent while midcap index declined 0.29 per cent. Among the indices, telecommunication jumped 2.30 per cent, energy (1.45 per cent), teck (0.78 per cent), bankex (0.58 per cent) and services (0.46 per cent). Commodities, consumer discretionary, IT and auto were among the laggards.