Climbing for the eighth day running, equity benchmark indices continued their winning momentum on Tuesday early trade, with the Nifty scaling its fresh all-time high level. The strong rise in equity in initial deals was also aided by a generally firm trend in global markets and recent foreign capital inflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 412.02 points to 67,539.10 in early trade. The Nifty climbed 114 points to 20,110.35 -- its all-time high mark.
Among the Sensex firms, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers. NTPC, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Motors were among the laggards.
How did Asian and US markets fare?
In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green while Seoul quoted lower. The US markets ended in positive territory on Monday. "Optimism regarding India's growth prospects in a low-growth world and a fast decelerating China has triggered this rally enabling the Nifty to cross the psychological 20,000 mark. FIIs, too, have joined the party with a buy figure of Rs 1,473 crore," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.
The participation of the fairly valued large banking stocks and RIL make this rally healthy even when the overall market valuation is turning expensive, he added.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Monday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,473.09 crore, according to exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.39 per cent to USD 90.99 a barrel. The 30-share BSE benchmark regained the 67,000 level on Monday. The benchmark jumped 528.17 points or 0.79 per cent to settle at 67,127.08. The Nifty ended at 19,996.35, reflecting a gain of 176.40 points or 0.89 per cent. The Nifty scaled the record 20,000 mark for the first time ever in intra-day trade.
Rupee rises against dollar
Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 10 paise to 82.93 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday tracking a positive trend in domestic equities and foreign fund inflows.
Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as the soft US dollar and positive domestic markets provided support, while concerns over global economic slowdown and rising expectations of a rate hike by FOMC amid strong economic data from the US may cap sharp gains for the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.93, registering a rise of 10 paise over its last close. On Monday, the rupee closed on a flat note at 83.03 against the American currency.
(With inputs from PTI)
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