Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs Led By Gains In IT, Banking Shares

The Indian equity benchmarks surged to record highs in late morning deals on Thursday led by gains in information technology and banking shares. The Sensex rose as much as 316 points to hit an all-time high of 53,219.91 and Nifty 50 index surged 82 points to hit record high of 15,935.65. Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, HCL Technologies, Infosys, HDFC and ICICI Bank were among the top movers in the Sensex.

As of 11;02 am, Sensex advanced 295 points to 53,199 and Nifty 50 index climbed 83 points to 15,936.

IT shares were witnessing strong buying interest on the back of strong June quarter earnings reported by Infosys, Mindtree, TCS and L&T Technology Services. The Nifty IT index was top sectoral gainer, the index climbed as 384 pints to hit an all-time high of 29,723.85. Nifty Bank, Financial Services and Private bank indices were also trading on a strong note.

On the other hand, select FMCG, oil & gas, realty and pharma shares were witnessing a mild selling pressure.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading mixed as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.3 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 100 index surged over 1 per cent.

Among the individual shares, L&T Technology Services surged as much as 16 per cent to hit record high of Rs 3,370 after its profit jumped 84 per cent to Rs 216 crore from Rs 117 crore during the same period last year.

Larsen & Toubro was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose over 4 per cent to Rs 1,610. HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, HDFC Bank, Hindalco, HDFC Life, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank also rose between 0.8-3.6 per cent.

On the flipside, ONGC, Eicher Motors, Britannia Industries, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, Asian Paints, Tata Consumer Products, Coal India and ITC were among the losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,742 shares were advancing while 1,271 were declining on the BSE.