Sensex, Nifty hit lifetime high;Tata Motors dip over 3%

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty, surged to fresh highs on Wednesday, tracking gains in index heavyweights HDFC Bank, RIL and ITC amid unabated foreign fund inflows.

After rallying to its record-breaking, intra-day peak of 41,614.77, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled at 206.40 points or 0.50 per cent higher, to its all-time closing high of 41,558.57.

Similarly, NSE Nifty advanced 56.65 points, or 0.47 per cent, to its record closing high of 12,221.65.

M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging by 3.37 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma 2.53 per cent, Asian Paints 1.88 per cent, ITC 1.66 per cent, HDFC Bank 1.58 per cent and Tech Mahindra 1.51 per cent.

Whereas, Tata Motors plunged 3.05 per cent after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday ordered the restoration of Cyrus Mistry as the Executive Chairman of Tata Sons. NCLAT also held appointment of N Chandrasekaran as Executive Chairman 'illegal'.

Other Tata group stocks including Tata Power, Tata Chemicals and Tata Global Beverages too fell down to 4.14 per cent.

HUL, SBI and Yes Bank fell 1.79 per cent each. NTPC, PowerGrid and Bajaj Finance also ended in the red.

Besides stock-specific action, sustained foreign fund inflows boosted market mood here, traders said.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs. 728.13 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs. 796.38 crore on Tuesday, data available with the stock exchange showed.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo ended on a mixed note, while those in Europe saw tepid trading sentiment.

On the currency front, the rupee depreciated by 6 paise against the US dollar to 71.05 (intra-day).

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.76 per cent- to USD 65.58 per barrel.