The Sensex and Nifty erased initial losses to finish at fresh lifetime highs on Monday, buoyed by brisk buying in market heavyweight Reliance Industries.
Positive global cues and a declining trend in new COVID-19 cases added to the momentum, traders said.
Rising for the third straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 76.77 points or 0.15 per cent higher at its new closing peak of 52,551.53.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 12.50 points or 0.08 per cent to a record 15,811.85.
Reliance Industries topped the Sensex gainers’ list with a jump of 1.46 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Infosys, PowerGrid, L&T and IndusInd Bank.
On the other hand, Kotak Bank, HDFC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, Maruti and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards, shedding up to 1.51 per cent.
Meanwhile, shares of Adani Group companies plunged after reports said the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) has frozen the accounts of the three foreign funds that are among the top stakeholders in the firms.
However, billionaire Gautam Adani’s group said it has written confirmation that accounts of the three foreign funds are not frozen and reports to the contrary are “blatantly erroneous and misleading”.
“Though the domestic market opened on a negative note due to lack of positive cues, it recovered in the afternoon, led by heavyweights following positive global markets. WPI inflation for May rose to 12.94 per cent reflecting a higher price of fuel and manufactured products along with a lower base.
“Fed policy meeting to be held on June 15-16 is expected to dominate investor behaviour in the coming days. Though the Fed is expected to keep its rates unchanged, the key focus of the market will be on its comment on inflation,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Sector-wise, BSE energy, IT, teck and oil & gas indices climbed up to 0.81 per cent, while power, realty, industrials, utilities and capital goods finished in the red.
In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap gauges tumbled up to 0.68 per cent.
World stocks spurted to record highs ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later this week, with investors wagering on a continuation of its dovish stance even as the US central bank gets ready to discuss tapering its massive bond-buying programme.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note. Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed on account of a local holiday.
Equities in Europe were trading with gains in mid-session deals.
International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.94 per cent higher at USD 73.37 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the rupee declined 22 paise to close at 73.29 against the US dollar.
India recorded a single-day rise of 70,421 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest in 74 days, taking the country’s infection tally to 2,95,10,410, while the count of active cases fell below 10 lakhs after over two months, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
