JOIN USBenchmarks rallied to fresh lifetime highs on Wednesday on persistent investor appetite for market heavyweight RIL, while the broader buying momentum got a fillip after IMF underlined India's role as a source of global growth.
The BSE Sensex vaulted 221.76 points to close at a new peak of 37,887.56. The broader NSE Nifty extended its record-setting run for the fourth session and finished above the 11,400-mark for the first time.
Sentiment was buoyed after the IMF said India will be a source of growth for the global economy for the next few decades and it could be what China was for the world economy, even as it suggested more structural reforms.
Sustained FII inflows and fresh spell of buying by domestic institutional investors fuelled the rally, brokers said.
Encouraging first quarter earnings and mixed trend in global markets, with US stocks approaching fresh all-time highs, too bolstered sentiment, they added.
Reliance Industries witnessed heavy buying and spurted 2.85% to close at a fresh high of Rs 1,217.25.
The 30-share Sensex, after a cautious start, gathered momentum and rallied to 37,931.42, before finally ending at 37,887.56, a rise of 221.76 points, or 0.59%.
It broke its previous closing record of 37,691.89 hit on August 6.
The broader NSE Nifty advanced 60.55 points or 0.53% to 11,450, surpassing its previous closing high of 11,389.45 hit on Tuesday.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 314.83 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs 319.90 crore on Tuesday, provisional data showed.
"Global markets were mixed as investors continue to stay cautious due to lingering concerns on US trade tensions." said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
ONGC was the top performer among the Sensex constituents, rising 2.87 per cent, followed by RIL.
Other gainers were ICCI Bank 1.63%, SBI 1.53%, HUL 1.33%, Tata Motors 1.25% and Bharti Airtel 0.85%, among others.
On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki declined 1.99 per cent, Bajaj Auto 0.96%, Vedanta 0.90%, NTPC 0.57%, Infosys 0.47%, ITC 0.22% and Hero MotoCorp 0.12%.
Among sectoral indices, the BSE energy index rose 1.86%, followed by telecom 1.71%, consumer durables 1.25%, bankex 0.78%, oil and gas 0.72%, capital goods 0.38%, FMCG 0.33%, metal 0.30%, PSU 0.21% and teck 0.06%.
Healthcare, power, auto, IT, infrastructure and realty indices ended in the red, falling up to 0.33%.
In the broader markets, the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained 0.16% and 0.03%, respectively.
Mahindra & Mahindra rose 0.19% after the company yesterday posted a 67 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 1,257 crore for the June quarter.
Coming to the global markets, Asian equities ended mixed as investors looked past protectionism tussles and focused on US stocks approaching fresh all-time highs.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng moved up 0.39%, Taiwan rose 0.84%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.27% and Japan's Nikkei shed 0.08%.
In the Eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX fell 0.10% and Paris CAC declined 0.09% in their late morning deals. London's FTSE, however, gained 0.69%.
US stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors focused on positive corporate earnings.