Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices hit their record high levels on Wednesday, with the Sensex hitting the record 64,000 mark and the Nifty scaling the 19,000 mount amid a rally in the US and European markets and fresh foreign fund inflows.
Buying in market heavyweight stocks like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank also aided the positive momentum.
Extending its previous day's rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 621.07 points to hit its all-time high of 64,037.10 during afternoon trade. The NSE Nifty climbed 193.85 points to reach its lifetime peak of 19,011.25.
"Nifty made a new all-time high on June 28, triggered by buying from institutions and retail/HNI segments. Improving US economic data and hints from China about fresh stimulus measures have helped improve sentiments," said Dhiraj Relli, MD & CEO, HDFC Securities Ltd.
From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Tata Motors, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Power Grid were among the major gainers.
Wipro and Tech Mahindra were the laggards.
In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong quoted in the green while Seoul and Shanghai were trading lower. European markets in trading in the positive territory. The US markets ended significantly higher on Tuesday.
"After making several attempts in the past few days, Nifty finally managed to cross its previous highs. Strong institutional flows, healthy macros and robust earnings growth drove domestic market towards its new highs," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research, Broking and Distribution, MOFSL.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.08 per cent to USD 72.32 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,024.05 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
The BSE benchmark jumped 446.03 points or 0.71 per cent to settle at 63,416.03 on Tuesday. The Nifty climbed 126.20 points or 0.68 per cent to end at 18,817.40.