Nifty ends above 16K for first time, Sensex at record high; banking, auto shares lead gains

Benchmark indices closed at their life-time highs today, powered by a rally in banking, auto and IT stocks. Sensex logged its biggest gain in two months, ending 872 points higher at 53,823. Nifty climbed 245 points to 16,130.

Titan was the top Sensex gainer, rising 3.89 per cent, followed by HDFC, Nestle  India, IndusInd Bank, Ultratech Cement, Bharti Airtel and SBI.

Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel and NTPC were among the top Sensex losers, falling up to 0.33%.

Among 30 Sensex stocks, 27 ended in green.

During the day, Sensex logged all-time high of 53,887 and Nifty  touched 16,146, a fresh record high.

BSE midcap and small cap indices closed 43 points and 62 points higher at 23,374 and 27,134, respectively.

Nifty scales 16K mark for first time, Sensex hits record high: Key factors that fuelled the rally

Banking stocks were the top sectoral gainers with their BSE index zooming 614 points to end at 39,973 against previous close of 39,359.

IT shares too rallied with the BSE IT index ending 1.25% or 390 points higher at 31,587, respectively.

BSE auto index surged 361 points to 23,144. Bank Nifty gained 1.43% or 497 points to end at 35,207.

All 19 BSE sectoral indices except metal ended in the green. BSE metal index closed 17 points lower at 21,013.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to a record  high of Rs 240.04 lakh crore. 

Commenting on the outlook for Nifty, Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan said, "The medium-term target continues to be pegged at 16,800. Along with the price breakout, the daily Bollinger Bands have entered an expansion phase, which is in favour of the rally.

Additionally, the daily momentum indicator has triggered a bullish crossover and has started a new cycle on the upside from the equilibrium line. Nifty is expected to witness sustained rally going ahead. On the flip side, the zone of 15,900-16,000, which was earlier acting as a resistance, will now act as a crucial short-term support area as per the principle of role reversal."

Meanwhile, rupee rose by 6 paise to close at 74.28 against the US dollar amid a firm trend in domestic equities and a weak American currency.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 74.36 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.21 and a low of 74.36.

Global markets

The record rally in Indian market came despite mixed movement in global markets.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.3% to 7,103.62 and the DAX in Frankfurt added under 0.1% to 15,579.92. The CAC 40 in Paris advanced 0.8% to 6,727.16.

However, in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5% to 3,447.99 and Nikkei 225 in Tokyo sank 0.5% to 27,641.83. Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 0.2% lower at 26,194.82.

The Kospi in South Korea gained 0.4% to 3,237.14 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was off 0.2% at 7,474.50.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.47 per cent to $73.23 per barrel.