Nifty ends at record high for second straight session led by banks

Nifty ends at record high: The National Stock Exchange benchmark Nifty 50 index closed at record highs for second straight session on Tuesday led by gains in HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and NTPC. The Nifty 50 index rose as much as 93 points to hit record high of 22,215.60 and 30-share Sensex rose as much as 423 points to hit an intraday high of 73,131.

Banking and financial services shares led the gains in Tuesday's session as Nifty Bank index, the sub index of 12 banking shares, rose nearly 600 points and Nifty Financial Services index advanced over 250 points.

The Nifty ended 75 points higher at 21,197 and Sensex advanced 349 points to close at 73,057.

Emerging market stocks edged up on Tuesday as Chinese equities recovered after declines earlier, offsetting the losses across Asian bourses.

MSCI's gauge for emerging market stocks gained 0.1 per cent, as mainland China stocks closed 0.2 per cent higher after falling as much as 0.7 per cent during the day, while Shanghai shares ended 0.4 per cent higher.

China announced a 25-basis point cut to the five-year loan prime rate (LPR), in a bid to prop up the struggling property market and broader economy.

Back home, seven of 13 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by Nifty Bank index's 1.2 per cent gain. Nifty Realty, Private Bank, Financial Services, Media and Financial Services indices also rose between 1-2 per cent.

On the other hand, auto, IT, metal and pharma stocks faced selling pressure.

Mid- and small-cap shares also faced selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.13 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 0.53 per cent.

Among the individual shares, steel pipes and tubes maker Vibhor Steel Tubes made a solid debut on the stock market, defying expectations and witnessing an unprecedented surge of 182 per cent on its listing day. The company's shares soared to Rs 425 per share, a significant leap from its issue price of Rs 151.

Power Grid was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 4.4 per cent to Rs 288 after the company on Monday said its board has approved an investment worth about Rs 656 crore for implementation of electricity transmission projects in the country.

"...its Board of Directors and 'Committee of Directors on Investment on Projects in their respective meetings held on 18th February, 2024, have accorded investment approvals," a BSE filing stated.

HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI Life, Bharat Petroleum, IndusInd Bank and Apollo Hospitals also rose between 1.5-2.5 per cent.

On the flipside, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Coal India, TCS, Cipla and Bajaj Finserv were among the losers.

The overall market was neutral as 1,955 shares ended higher while 1,877 closed lower on the BSE.

(With agency inputs)