Sensex ends above 53K for first time; Tata Steel, HDFC twins lead gains

Sensex closed above 53,000 level for the first time today propelled by gains in metal and capital goods stocks.

The 30-stock index rose 194 points to close at its fresh lifetime high of 53,054.76. Nifty climbed 61.40 points to its record peak of 15,879.

BSE midcap and small cap indices rose 130 points and 98 points, respectively.

However, a weakening rupee and lacklustre global cues capped the gains, traders said.

Metal and capital goods stocks were top gainers with BSE metal and capital goods indices rising 429 and 211 points, respectively.

Tata Steel was the top Sensex gainer, rallying 4.38 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Nestle India, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and PowerGrid.

Titan, Maruti, Reliance Industries, M&M, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Auto were among top Sensex losers sliding up to 2.06 per cent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, "Global markets traded mixed ahead of the FOMC minutes as investors preferred safe-haven bonds and dollars. Healthy pre-sale numbers boosted buying interest in realty stocks while metal stocks followed the trend."

 Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 232.21 lakh crore.

 Market breadth was positive with 1,748 shares rising against 1,456 falling on BSE.

The rupee weakened by 7 paise to end at 74.62 against the US currency on Wednesday as a stronger dollar and rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 543.30 crore, as per exchange data.

Global markets

Global stock markets were trading mixed after Wall Street declined on weaker US services activity. London, Frankfurt and Shanghai advanced while Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Wall Street futures were mixed.

The FTSE 100 in London opened 0.5% higher at 7,136.05. Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.7% to 15,618.92 while the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.3% to 6,525.16.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 in Tokyo sank 1% to 28,366.95 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.4% to 27,960.62.