Markets at new peak: Sensex rallies 460 points; Nifty tops 18,450

Mumbai, October 18

Taking its winning streak to the seventh session, equity benchmark Sensex rallied 460 points to finish at a fresh lifetime peak on Monday, tracking heavy buying in banking, IT and metal stocks despite a weak trend in global markets.

After touching a lifetime high of 61,963.07 during the session, the 30-share BSE index ended 459.64 points or 0.75 per cent higher at its new closing record of 61,765.59.

Similarly, the Nifty surged 138.50 points or 0.76 per cent to its all-time closing high 18,477.05. It touched a new intra-day record of 18,543.15.

Infosys was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping over 4 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, ITC, Maruti, SBI and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, M&M, Dr Reddy’s, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

“The domestic market traded at record highs withstanding the weak trends in the global market due to disappointing Chinese GDP numbers and global inflationary pressure as a result of energy shortage,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Chinese GDP grew by just 4.9 per cent during the July-September quarter owing to lower-than-expected growth in industrial activity. However, the trend in the Indian market was bullish as PSU banks, metals, IT and energy stocks took charge of the rally, he noted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo ended with losses, while Hong Kong was positive.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading in the red in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.82 per cent to USD 85.56 per barrel. PTI