BSE Sensex, Nifty hit fresh record high on capital inflows

The BSE Sensex on Wednesday climbed to a fresh all-time high by gaining 40 points on sustained buying by foreign funds in bluechips on improving growth outlook amid a firming global trend.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange index closed the day 40.09 points, or 0.18 per cent, higher at 22,095.30.

The 50-share National Stock Exchange's broad-based index Nifty also closed at record high of 6,601.40 points, up by 11.65 points over the last close.

Brokers said foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers on improving economic growth and rupee rising to over seven-month high against the dollar. A firming global trend after the US consumer confidence climbed to a six-year high further supported the uptrend.

After initial surge, markets rolled back to minimise the day's gains on profit booking and investors squaring up their pending positions ahead of monthly settlement in the derivatives segment on Thursday.

But both the indices surged to new record intra-day high levels. The Sensex touched the peak of 22,172.20 points while Nifty rose to 6,627.45 points in day trade.

In 30-BSE index components, 16 stocks climbed. Gains in Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Tata Motors helped the Sensex post gains for the third straight day.

Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, ONGC and Coal India were among other major gainers.

The metal sector index gained the most by surging 2.70 per cent to 9,541.42, followed by capital goods index by 1.35 per cent to 11,893.28. Oil and gas index rose by 1.14 per cent to 9,271.21 and PSU index by 1.10 per cent to 6,137.89.