Sensex, Nifty end at record highs; IT, capital goods shares lead gains

Indian equity indices ended at fresh record highs today led by gains in capital goods and IT stocks. Sensex rose 318 points to end at lifetime high of 54,843 and Nifty advanced 82 points to a record of 16,325.

During the day, Sensex zoomed to a lifetime high of 54,874 and Nifty hit a record of 16,375.

PowerGrid was the top Sensex gainer, rallying over 6 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Titan, L&T, NTPC and ICICI Bank.

Dr Reddy's, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank were among the top Sensex losers, falling up to 0.67%.

BSE midcap and small cap indices zoomed 244 points and 508 points, respectively after BSE issued a clarification about rules on its Add On Price Band Framework.

Mid cap, small cap stocks tumble on concerns over BSE's Add-on Price Band Framework

On a sectoral basis, capital goods and IT shares were the top gainers.

BSE capital goods index zoomed 401 points to 23,938 and BSE IT index rallied 461 points to end at 32,450.

All 19 BSE sectoral indices except energy index ended in the green. BSE energy index ended 10.85 points lower at 6,646.

Market breadth was positive with 2,358 shares rising against 843 stocks falling on BSE. 125 shares were unchanged.

"Structurally, the rally is developing as an impulse on the upside and is expected to continue with the upward trajectory. On the higher side, 16,400-16,450 will be the initial area to watch out for with the potential to head higher to 16,800. On the other hand, 16,200-16,160 will continue to act as a crucial support zone," said Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 238.83 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, rupee rose 19 paise to end at 74.25 against the US dollar amid heavy buying in domestic equities and weakness in the dollar. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened strong at 74.26 against the American currency and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.24 and a low of 74.33 during the session.