Mumbai: Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty extended their rise for the third straight session on Tuesday, though gains were marginal, and closed at fresh closing highs on buying in pharma and IT stocks amid optimism over US-China trade talks.
The BSE Sensex edged higher by 7 points and managed to end at a new peak of 38,285.75, surpassing its previous record closing of 38,278.75 hit yesterday. The 30-share index also went on to hit its life-time high (intra-day) at 38,402.96 in day’s trade. Its previous intra-day high was 38,340.69, reached yesterday. During the day, it touched a low of 38,213.87. The broader NSE Nifty also logged its fresh closing high of 11,570.90, up 19.15 points, or 0.17 per cent. The 50-issue index surpassed its previous record closing of 11,551.75, marked yesterday. The Nifty also met its intra-day record high at 11,581.75, breaking its previous day’s record of 11,565.30. The index slipped to a low of 11,539.60 during the day’s trade. Unabated buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and positive sentiment in world markets helped domestic markets scale fresh highs today, brokers said.
Investors have kept their eyes on US-China trade talks and are optimistic about a positive outcome. The tariff war between them has been keeping global markets uncertain for a while now. But, the trade talks between the two major economies, which are scheduled to take place through Tuesday and Wednesday this week, have led to an improvement in market sentiments, they added. Among the Sensex constituents, Coal India was the top gainer by climbing 2.59 per cent to close at Rs 291.55 after reports indicated that the government is planning to sell some minority stake in the company. Other gainers included Axis Bank 1.92 per cent, NTPC 1.70 per cent, Sun Pharma 1.69 per cent, Wipro 1.48 per cent, RIL 0.94 per cent, ONGC 0.71 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 0.32 per cent, TCS 0.16 per cent, ICICI Bank 0.16 per cent and Hero Motocorp 0.14 per cent, helping the index scale record high levels. Lupin rose 2.23 per cent after company today said it has received final approval from the USFDA to market Hydrocortisone Butyrate lotion, used for treatment of mild atopic dermatitis in patients 3 months of age and older. Profit-booking in index major Tata Steel pulled it 2.86 per cent, while HUL fell 1.30 per cent, Vedanta 1.17 per cent, M&M 1.12 per cent, Bharti Airtel 0.72 per cent, Yes Bank 0.72 per cent, IndusInd Bank 0.71 per cent, Kotak Bank 0.66 per cent, Asian Paint 0.48 per cent, HDFC 0.38 per cent, Bajaj Auto 0.24 per cent and SBI 0.21 per cent. (PTI)
