HDFC, TCS stock prices soar, Sensex hits all-time high, Nifty hits all-time high

Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply today to hit record highs.

Mumbai:

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply today to hit record highs, supported by buying in IT, consumer durables and financial stocks on expectations of strong corporate performance.

Separately, investors welcomed some banking stocks as the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to maintain status quo on interest rates, analysts said. The six-member rate-setting panel began deliberations on Wednesday and will announce a decision on Friday.

The 30-stock BSE Sensex surged 350.81 points or 0.47% to close at a record high of 74,227.63 points. On the day, the index oscillated between a high of 74,501.73 and a low of 73,485.12.

The broader NSE Nifty index also touched a fresh high of 22,514.65 points, up 80 points or 0.36 per cent. As many as 31 components of the 50-share benchmark rose.

Both indexes ended lower in the previous two trading sessions.

On March 7, the Sensex hit its previous peak of 74,119.39. Nifty touched its previous high of 22,493.55 points.

Among Sensex constituents, 20 stocks ended in the green with HDFC Bank, Titan, Tech Mahindra and Asian Paints being the major gainers.

TCS, Maruti, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finserve were the other gainers.

In comparison, SBI, Bharti Airtel, JSW Steel, PowerGrid, ITC and Reliance all ended in the red.

The BSE large-cap index gained 0.34% and small-cap index gained 0.54%, while the midcap index edged down 0.11%.

Market breadth showed a positive trend in a tight trading range, with focus on the Reserve Bank of India’s upcoming monetary policy announcement on Friday. “Expectations are leaning towards the status quo where repo rates are likely to remain due to widespread inflation concerns.

Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, said: “Meanwhile, select sectors such as banks are expected to perform well in the fourth quarter, with exports also showing resilience, based on the composite PMI data reflecting strong business conditions.”

Elsewhere in Asia, Seoul and Tokyo closed higher, while Hong Kong and Shanghai were closed for holidays.

European markets are trading in the green. U.S. markets ended mixed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.36% to $88.67 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,213.56 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell 27.09 points, or 0.04%, to close at 73,876.82 points. The NSE Nifty index fell 18.65 points, or 0.08%, to 22,434.65 points.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)