Sensex rises 277 points to hit fresh closing high; Nifty settles above 17,300 for first time – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Markets scaled to record highs on Friday with the benchmark BSE sensex closing over 58,000 mark for the first time ever led by gains in metal and auto stocks.
After scaling an intra-day high of 58,195, the 30-share BSE index jumped 277 points or 0.48 per cent to finish at record high of 58,130. While the broader NSE Nifty settled 89 points or 0.52 per cent higher at fresh peak of 17,324.
Reliance was the top gainers in the sensex pack rising above 4 per cent followed by Titan, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Maruti and Dr Reddy’s.
Whereas HUL, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, HDFC, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank were the major losers falling up to 1.18 per cent.
On the NSE platform, sub-indices Nifty Oil and Gas, Media, Auto and Metal gained as much as 2.48 per cent.
“The sentiments look positive and market is set to continue or at least hold the gains of the week so far on the back of firm equities in Asia and overnight gains in the United States, although the market might be cautious in the second half ahead of US jobs data,” Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Financial Services told news agency Reuters.
Domestic markets, having outperformed Asian peers so far this year, has enjoyed its record highs on abundant liquidity and positive global cues, along with the Fed’s dovish stance.
The Nifty has hit record high 47 times and the sensex 38 times this year, as per Refinitiv Eikon data.
Investors also await US jobs data to ascertain the pace and timing of the Federal Reserve’s tapering of asset purchases.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 348.52 crore on Thursday, as per provisional exchange data.