Nifty breaches 9,600 mark, Sensex at new high

Mumbai: The NSE Nifty crossed the 9,600-level for the first time today, while the Sensex continued to trade above 31,000 in pre-close trade on sustained foreign capital inflows amid robust earnings.

The 50-issue Nifty gained 91.45 points, or 0.96 per cent, to trade at 9,601.20, surpassing its previous intra-day high of 9,532.60 touched on May 17. The Nifty has risen nearly 30.46 per cent since the BJP- led NDA government came to power in May 2014.

The benchmark BSE Sensex too climbed 320.80 points, or 1.04 per cent, to trade at new record high of 31,070.83. The gauge has risen nearly 26 per cent since May 2014.

Marketmen said persistent inflow of foreign funds and sustained buying by retail investors, buoyed by a series of positive cues such as early onset of monsoon, upbeat quarterly earnings and finalisation of rates by the GST Council, fuelled the rally.

Firmness in the rupee against the dollar and fall in global crude oil prices also influenced trading sentiment, brokers said. Creation of new positions by participants following the beginning of the June futures and options (F&O) series too added to the momentum, they added.

Prominent gainers were Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, L&T, Infosys, HDFC Ltd, M&M, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, ITC Ltd, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, Wipro and Coal India, gaining up to 5.47 per cent.