Sensex, Nifty close at all-time highs

Benchmark indices yet again scaled new peaks on Tuesday as bulls kept their grip on the market.

Market, after opening on a positive note, rallied through the first half led by gains in heavyweights such as Reliance, HDFC and a sharp recovery in financials. Declining Covid-19 cases and gradual unlocking by states lifted investor sentiments.

The BSE Sensex closed at a fresh high of 52,773.05, up 221.52 points or 0.42 per cent. It breached the 52,800-mark during the morning session to record a fresh all-time high of 52,869.51. It recorded an intraday low of 52,671.29. The Nifty 50, which breached the 15,900-mark to record a fresh all-time high of 15,901.60, closed at a new high of 15,869.25, up 57.40 points or 0.36 per cent. It recorded an intraday low of 15,842.40.

The breadth of the market turned positive with 1,943 stocks advancing, 1,280 declining and 145 remaining unchanged on the BSE. As many as 565 securities hit the upper circuit and 185 the lower circuit; 530 hit their 52-week high while 24 touched a 52-week low.

Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities said, “Domestic equities remained firm and steady with benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex recording fresh all-time highs. A rebound in financials, FMCG and Reliance Industries supported market today. Further, positive cues from global markets also aided sentiments.”

Asian Paints, HDFC Life, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Hindustan Unilever were the top gainers on the Nifty 50; while Divi’s Labs, Adani Ports, Coal India, Tata Motors and Bajaj Finserv were the top laggards.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, "Indian bourses continued its gaining streak tracking optimism from global peers, which is despite the rising inflation concerns.”

“The global market is eagerly awaiting the two-day Fed policy meeting’s decision to see if the Central Bank would signal any change in policy. While domestic CPI jumped to 6.3% in May breaching the RBI’s comfort zone on account of higher food & energy prices, which is expected to ease due to the opening of the economy," added Nair.

Adani stocks mixed

Adani Group stocks were trading mixed after the company, in its clarification rejected a media report stating that the accounts of three foreign investor funds that own Adani Group stocks had been frozen.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, one of the top losers on the Nifty 50 today closed 1.56 per cent lower.

Adani Enterprises Ltd managed to recover ending 1.62 per cent higher.

Adani Power, Adani Transmission and Adani Total Gas hit the lower circuit at 5 per cent.

Pharma remains under pressure

On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Pharma, Metal, and PSU Bank closed in the green.

Nifty Pharma remained under pressure through the day ending 0.88 per cent lower. PSU Bank stocks also recorded losses in the second half and closed 0.26 per cent lower. Nifty Metal was down 0.05 per cent.

Meanwhile FMCG, Realty and financials gained. Nifty Bank was up 0.85 per cent at closing while Nifty Financial Services was up 0.57 per cent. Nifty Private Bank was up 1.07 per cent.

Nifty FMCG was up 0.73 per cent while Nifty Realty was up 1.32 per cent.

Broader indices

All broader indices were also in the green.

Nifty Midcap 50 was up 0.68 per cent at closing while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.16 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.60 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.44 per cent.

The volatility index softened 0.74 per cent to 14.61.