Sensex hits 63k mark for first time; Nifty ends at fresh lifetime high

MUMBAI: Benchmark BSE Sensex settled above the 63,000-level for the first time on Wednesday, extending its winning momentum to seventh day amid a largely positive trend in global markets and continuous foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share barometer rallied 417.81 points or 0.67 per cent to settle at 63,099.65, its fresh record closing high. During the day, the benchmark jumped 621.17 points or 0.99 per cent to 63,303.01, its lifetime intra-day peak.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 140.30 points or 0.75 per cent to end at 18,758.35, its fresh record closing high.

Among the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Tata Steel and Titan were major gainers.

IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, HCL Technologies and ITC were among the laggards.

"Domestic market continued its quest for gains, boosted by FII inflows. However, markets will be sensitive to the Fed Chair's remarks later in the day, as investors are expecting a moderation in the pace of rate hikes. An in-line comment will help to sustain the rally while loosening COVID-19 restrictions in China is providing relief to global markets," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.06 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.61 per cent.

All sectoral indices ended in the green, with utilities rallying 2.52 per cent, power jumped 2.35 per cent, metal (1.96 per cent), auto (1.74 per cent), commodities (1.62 per cent), realty (1.54 per cent), telecommunication (1.44 per cent) and consumer discretionary (1.25 per cent).

"Sentiment turned extremely bullish towards the closing stages, as renewed foreign institutional buying propelled both the benchmark indices to scale fresh highs. Also, strong European markets opening further bolstered investors' sentiment ahead of the Q2 GDP data announcement," Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd, said.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended higher, while Tokyo settled lower.

Equity exchanges in Europe were trading higher in the afternoon trade. Wall Street had ended on a mixed note on Tuesday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.83 per cent higher at USD 84.55 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,241.57 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data.