Benchmarks scale fresh peaks

Equity benchmarks advanced to fresh lifetime highs for the third session on the trot on Thursday, spurred by buying in energy, IT and auto counters amid persistent foreign fund inflows.

After rallying to its lifetime intra-day high of 41,719.29, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 115.35 points, or 0.28%, higher at its fresh closing record of 41,673.92.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 38.05 points, or 0.31%, to its new peak of 12,259.70. It hit an intra-day high of 12,268.35.

Yes Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 6.74%, followed by TCS, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, M&M, and RIL.

On the other hand, Vedanta, HDFC, Sun Pharma and IndusInd Bank shed up to 2.26%.

According to traders, after opening on a cautious note on news of US President Donald Trump’s impeachment by the House of Representatives, domestic equities resumed their record-setting streak amid unabated foreign fund inflows.

“Despite premium valuation market is touching higher highs led by foreign inflows due to convictions of consistency in performance. Union budget is likely to be crucial for the market on account of new policies and to attract investments. Investors are factoring a possible slippage in the fiscal deficit. “Broad market performance is yet to match with the main indices, the main dichotomy being lag in credit growth and structural change in industries.” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.