Sensex hits fresh record high, tops Mount 53,000

Mumbai, June 22

Equity benchmark Sensex ended on a flat note after scaling the 53,000-mark on Tuesday as investors booked profits at higher levels. A depreciating trend in the rupee also weighed on sentiment, traders said.

After touching a lifetime intra-day peak of 53,057.11, the Sensex settled 14.25 points higher at 52,588.71. Similarly, the Nifty rose 26.25 points to close at 15,772.75.

Maruti Suzuki, which was the biggest laggard in Monday’s session, topped the Sensex gainers’ chart on Tuesday with a jump of 5.25%. L&T, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Titan, Tata Steel and Bajaj Auto were the other winners, advancing up to 2.20%.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, HUL, IndusInd Bank and Sun Pharma were among the major laggards, dropping up to 1.91%.

Markets opened strong on the back of global cues and pick-up in the pace of vaccination. Tuesday’s trade saw hectic activity in stocks pertaining to the ‘unlock’ theme, said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

Nearing Mount 53K, however, Sensex witnessed profit-taking across the board in afternoon trade, he noted.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, “During early hours, Indian market traded strongly following yesterday’s rebound in western markets which focused on economic recovery partially offsetting concerns over a possible change in Fed policy in the future.” — PTI