Sensex surges 224 pts to finish at record peak; Nifty tops 13,700

Rallying for the fifth consecutive session, equity benchmark Sensex jumped 224 points on Thursday to end at its fresh peak, tracking gains in index majors HDFC twins, TCS and Reliance Industries amid persistent foreign fund inflows and positive global cues.

After touching its lifetime intra-day high of 46,992.57, the 30-share BSE index settled 223.88 points or 0.48 per cent higher at 46,890.34.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 58 points or 0.42 per cent to a new closing high of 13,740.70. It hit a lifetime peak of 13,773.25 during the day.

HDFC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Tech Mahindra and L&T.

On the other hand, ONGC, Maruti, Tata Steel, HUL, Bajaj Auto and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

Domestic equities remained upbeat and recorded fresh highs. A dovish tone of Federal Reserve along with assurance of continuing asset purchase program until economy makes a substantial progress bolstered investors’ sentiment, said Binod Modi, Head- Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Better prospects of earnings recovery, dismal interest rate scenario and strong FPI participation led markets to see record highs, he noted.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,981.77 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

"As underlying strengths of market remain intact, we expect market to remain buoyant in the near to medium term. Further, excess liquidity situation globally is expected to sustain for the medium term, which will continue to lend support to equities," he added.

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

Stock exchanges in Europe were also largely trading on a positive note.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.51 per cent to USD 51.34 per barrel.