Nifty hits 16,000 for the first time, Sensex tops 53,500

At the time of filing this copy, Sensex was up by over 500 points to trade at 53,451.36

Benchmark index Nifty hit 16,000 for the first time, led by pharma and FMCG stocks, while Sensex rallied over 550 points to hit record high of 53,509.04 as economic indicators pointed at faster pace of economic revival.

At the time of filing this copy, Sensex was up by over 558.41 points to trade at 53,509.04, while the Nifty rose over 152.70 points to 16,037.85.

"India-specific things continue to be strong, with industrial production data and manufacturing purchasing managers Index positive for July," Anita Gandhi, wholetime director at Arihant Capital Markets, said, adding that unlocking of restrictions is also a positive factor.

"However, in banking, the credit offtake is still not that great and collection efficiency and non-performing asset pressure continues to be there."

Private-sector lender RBL Bank reported a quarterly loss after its Covid-19 provisions jumped, sending its shares 2.7 per cent lower.

The Nifty IT index climbed 0.8 per cent, while the fast moving consumer goods sub-index rose 1 per cent. But, the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant in key Asian regions posed new risks and put Chinese authorities on high alert, rattling investor confidence.

"Globally, the volatility has increased and the new variant of Covid-19 is causing trouble. Even though India cues are positive, we also get impacted to some extent by global," Gandhi said.

In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.12 per cent.

Meanwhile, ecommerce beauty company Nykaa plans to raise $500 million through its initial public offering (IPO), a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, becoming the latest homegrown startup to pursue a listing on the domestic bourses.

(With inputs from Reuters)