Sensex, Nifty surge to fresh lifetime peaks

Equity benchmark Sensex soared over 475 points to close at its new lifetime high on Wednesday, driven by gains in TCS, Bharti Airtel and Titan amid persistent foreign capital inflows.

The 30-share index settled 476.11 points or 0.82 per cent higher at 58,723.20. It touched an intra-day record of 58,777.06.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 139.45 points or 0.80 per cent to its new closing high of 17,519.45. During the session, it touched an all-time peak of 17,532.70.

NTPC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping over 7 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Titan, HCL Tech, SBI, PowerGrid, TCS and IndusInd Bank.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance and Nestle India were among the laggards.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a relief package for the telecom sector that includes a four-year moratorium on payment of statutory dues by telecom companies as well as allowing 100 per cent foreign investment through the automatic route.

The Cabinet also approved a Rs 26,058 crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the auto, auto-components and drone industry to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended with losses, while Seoul closed in the green.

Equities in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,649.60 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional exchange data.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude spurted 1.05 per cent to $74.37 per barrel.