Sensex ends above 67,000-mark, Nifty at new closing peak of 19,833.15

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued their upward movement on Wednesday, ending at fresh record high levels, driven by foreign fund inflows and optimism in the global markets.

Buying in index majors Reliance Industries and ITC also helped the markets maintain their winning momentum.

Rallying for the fifth day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 302.30 points or 0.45 per cent to settle at its new record closing high of 67,097.44. During the day, it rallied 376.24 points or 0.56 per cent to reach its all-time intra-day peak of 67,171.38.

The NSE Nifty gained 83.90 points or 0.42 per cent to end at its lifetime closing high of 19,833.15. During the day, it climbed 102.45 points or 0.51 per cent to hit a fresh record intra-day peak of 19,851.70.

From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, ITC, Power Grid and Larsen & Toubro were the biggest gainers.

IndusInd Bank climbed 2 per cent after the company on Tuesday reported a 30 per cent jump in consolidated net profit in April-June quarter at Rs 2,124.50 crore, helped by core income growth and lower bad loan provisions.

Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 2,115.84 crore, according to exchange data.

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

Equity markets in Europe were quoting in the green. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Tuesday.

"Despite the current high levels, domestic investors have hardly lost confidence in the Indian economy. It is experiencing a broad based rally strengthened by encouraging domestic macroeconomic data and sustained inflows from FIIs.

"Although there was some initial profit booking today, the market confidently recovered, with buying observed in all major sectors except auto and IT. Additionally, the global market is providing comfort to the rally, in anticipation of moderation in global inflation," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.60 per cent to USD 80.11 a barrel.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday retained India's economic growth forecast at 6.4 per cent for the current financial year and 6.7 per cent for the next, saying robust domestic demand will continue to support the region's recovery.