Sensex rallies over 350 points to hit record high in opening session

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 350 points to hit its record intra-day level on Wednesday, tracking largely positive cues from global markets and strong foreign fund inflow.

After touching its lifetime peak of 43,675.59 in the opening session, the 30-share BSE index was trading 353.60 points or 0.82 per cent higher at 43,631.25.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty too touched a fresh high of 12,752.90. Later, it was trading with 108.95 points or 0.86 per cent gain at 12,740.05.

M&M was the top gainer, surging around 4 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, SBI, ONGC, L&T, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv and Maruti.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, HUL, PowerGrid, Titan and Nestle India were in the red.

In the previous session, Sensex soared 680.22 points or 1.60 per cent to close above the 43,000-mark for the first time at 43,277.65. The Nifty too ended at its all-time high of 12,631.10, up 170.05 points or 1.36 per cent.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 5,627.32 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional



exchange data.

Initial trade set up in India continues to look good with major Asian markets are now trading in the green, said Arjun Yash Mahajan Head Institutional Business at Reliance Securities.

"Additionally, NDA's win in Bihar assembly election and better Q2 earnings bode well for domestic equities," he said, adding that market valuations at these levels seem to be quite stretched and any sort of negative development may result in sharp reversal.

US equities ended mixed as emerging concerns about the overbought situation in the market after it witnessed a sharp rally in November so far, continued rise in new COVID-19 cases and doubt over the smooth transition to a new government weighed on investors' sentiment, he noted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo were trading up to 1.78 per cent higher in mid-session deals driven by hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine will help the global economy return to normal. Hong Kong market was, however, trading in the red.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.10 per cent higher at USD 44.09 per barrel.