Nifty ends at record high above 22,700; Sensex ends above 75k for 1st time

Stock market news: Indian benchmarks ended Wednesday on a bullish note ahead of the release of crucial US inflation data led by gains in metal stocks on expectations of strong global demand.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 surged 104.4 points to a record-high close of 22,747.15 and the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 354.45 points to end at 75,038.15.

Suman Bannerjee, CIO, Hedonova, said, “The benchmark index Sensex reached a historic milestone, surpassing the 75,000 level for the first time. The Sensex has gained the last 5,000 points from 70,000 to 75,000 in less than 80 sessions, or under four months, since crossing the 70,000 mark on December 14, 2023.”

“This upward trajectory has been underpinned by robust sectors such as capital goods, automobiles, banking, and metals. Notably, the increasing participation of retail investors has helped mitigate the risk of a market crash, even in the face of potential foreign capital outflows due to delays or modest rate cuts by the Fed. However, investors should exercise caution and adhere to long-term investment strategies amidst this historic market milestone,” Bannerjee added.

Among the broad market indices, Nifty Midcap 50 closed 1.12 per cent higher, followed by Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Midcap Select which rose 0.97 per cent each. All the sectoral indices except for Nifty Auto and Nifty Pharma ended in red today with Nifty Metal and Nifty Bank touching their respective all-time highs.

While Nifty Metal rose 1.8 per cent to touch a record high of 9,054.95, Nifty Bank rose 0.67 per cent to hit a record high of 49,057.40 during the day's trade.

Rahul Ghose, Founder & CEO, Hedged.in, said "Even Though the top banks like Hdfc bank and Icici did not show any performance today, the Bank Nifty index continues to be steadfast in the last leg of its rally. The bullish bias could take Bank Nifty upto a maximum of 1000 points more on the upside and we don't see Bank Nifty closing above 50,000 level in the April series. 

"The short straddles being created for the April monthly expiry at the 49,000 level further corroborate this view," Ghose added.

Sensex top gainers

• ITC: 2.49 per cent
• Kotak Bank: 2.40 per cent
• Bharti Airtel: 2.11 per cent
• SBIN: 1.94 per cent
• Asian Paints: 1.36 per cent
• Tech Mahindra: 1.35 per cent

Sensex top losers

• Maruti: -1.60 per cent
• HDFC Bank: -0.83 per cent
• L&T: -0.78 per cent
• M&M: -0.62 per cent
• Tata Steel: -0.48 per cent
• Bajaj Finserv: -0.29 per cent

Nifty top gainers

• Coal India: 3.56 per cent
• BPCL: 3.46 per cent
• Kotak Bank: 2.26 per cent
• Hindalco: 2.26 per cent
• ITC: 2.26 per cent
• Bharti Airtel: 2.06 per cent

Nifty top losers

• HDFC Life: -2.04 per cent
• Cipla: -1.68 per cent
• Maruti: -1.65 per cent
• Divis Labs: -1.58 per cent
• Shriram Finance: -1.21 per cent
• SBI Life: -1.04 per cent