Sensex jumps 227 pts to end above 44,000 for first time; Nifty tops 12,900

The BSE Sensex jumped 227 points to finish above the 44,000-mark for the first time on Wednesday, tracking gains in financial stocks amid largely positive cues from Asian markets and persistent foreign fund inflows.

After touching its lifetime intra-day high of 44,215.49, the 30-share BSE benchmark ended 227.34 points or 0.52 per cent higher at its record closing of 44,180.05.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 64.05 points or 0.50 per cent to end at its all-time high of 12,938.25. It had touched an intra-day record of 12,948.85.

M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring over 10 per cent, followed by L&T, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank.

On the other hand, HUL, ITC, Titan TCS and Bharti Airtel were among the losers.

According to traders, largely positive cues from global markets and persistent foreign fund inflows buoyed market sentiment.

Domestic equities continued to maintain their northward move mainly led by rebound in financials and automobiles, said Arjun Yash Mahajan, Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities, adding that strong buying continued in mid-cap and small-cap stocks

"A healthy improvement in earnings outlook of financials and visibility over asset quality continued to support financial stocks. Rotational trade also remained visible where IT, FMCG and Pharma remained laggards and cyclical and beaten down stocks witnessed sharp upmove," he said.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended on a positive note, while Tokyo was in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe also largely opened with gains.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.85 per cent higher at USD 44.12 per barrel.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,905.35 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.