Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty eked out gains in volatile trade to settle at record high levels on Tuesday, extending their gaining streak to the third day on the back of buying in Tata Motors and HDFC Bank.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 99.56 points or 0.12 per cent at 81,455.40 -- its all-time closing high -- with 16 of its components advancing and 14 ending lower. The index opened higher and jumped 459.43 points or 0.56 per cent to hit an intra-day high of 81,815.27.
The NSE Nifty edged up 21.20 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at an all-time closing high of 24,857.30. During the day, it surged 135.65 points or 0.54 per cent.
"The domestic market ended flat, due to by profit-booking at higher levels. However, the expectation of dovish comments from the US Fed and BoE in the upcoming policy meetings this week is supporting the optimism," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.
Despite heavy volatility, the combined market valuation of all BSE-listed companies hit the USD 5.50-trillion milestone for the first time.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid Corp, Titan, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Steel were among the biggest gainers.
Sun Pharmaceuticals, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the negative territory. European markets were trading on a mixed note. The US markets closed higher on Monday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.05 per cent to USD 79.73 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,474.54 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 23.12 points or 0.03 per cent at 81,355.84, its all-time closing high.
The NSE Nifty ended marginally up 1.25 points or 0.01 per cent at an all-time closing high of 24,836.10.