Sensex closes above 66,000-mark for 1st time, Nifty settles at new record high on FII inflows

Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex closed above the historic 66,000-mark for the first time while NSE Nifty hit a new all-time closing high driven by heavy buying in IT counters and fresh foreign fund inflows.

Optimism in global equity markets also helped the local markets maintain their winning momentum for a second day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 502.01 points or 0.77 per cent to settle at its new all-time closing high of 66,060.90. During the day, it rallied 600.9 points or 0.91 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 66,159.79.

The NSE Nifty went up by 150.75 points or 0.78 per cent to end at a new record high of 19,564.50. During the day, it reached its lifetime intra-day peak of 19,595.35, registering a jump of 181.6 points or 0.93 per cent.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services jumped over 5 per cent and Tech Mahindra rallied 4.51 per cent. Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tata Steel, Nestle, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Unilever were also among the major gainers.

On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Titan, Maruti, UltraTech Cement, NTPC and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the green, while Tokyo settled lower. Equity markets in Europe were trading mostly with gains. The US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.

The wholesale price-based inflation rate declined to (-) 4.12 per cent in June on easing prices of food, fuel and manufactured items.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Thursday as they bought equities worth Rs 2,237.93 crore after a day's breather, according to exchange data.

"The controlled inflation in the US has instilled optimism among investors that a 25-bps rate hike would be adequate to stabilise the US economy. This improved prospect has contributed to the strong buying of Indian IT stocks despite muted Q1 earnings.

"Furthermore, the broad-based rally in the domestic market was supported by India's consecutive third-month decrease in wholesale prices, along with the positive involvement of FIIs," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.09 per cent to USD 81.29 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark had ended 164.99 points or 0.25 per cent higher at 65,558.89 on Thursday. The Nifty went up by 29.45 points or 0.15 per cent to 19,413.75.