Benchmark stock market indices ended at record highs on Wednesday driven by gains in shares of Reliance Industries Limited.
The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 518.91 points, or 0.66%, to 78,572.43, while NSE Nifty50 added 152.85 points, or 0.64%, to 23,874.15.
“Heavyweight Reliance and the banking counters-led rally helped the Index to extend its journey towards the north to end the session at a record level of 23,868.80 with gains of 147.50 points,” said Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares.
Shares of Reliance Industries were the top gainers on the Nifty50 index with an increase of 3.88%. It was followed by Bharti Airtel with a rise of 3.33%.
UltraTech Cement also saw a gain of 2.84%, Grasim Industries (GRASIM) increased by 1.51%, and Britannia Industries (BRITANNIA) rose by 1.49%.
The top losers were Apollo Hospitals, which experienced a decline of 2.52%, Mahindra & Mahindra fell by 1.81%, Bajaj Auto declined by 1.76%, Tata Steel dropped by 1.64%, and Hindalco Industries decreased by 1.56%.
“On a sectoral front, Media was the top performer followed by Energy while Metal and Realty persisted with their underperformance. Mid and Smallcaps underperformed as the buying interest remained towards Index stocks only. As indicated yesterday, the Index is performing as per our expectations but we believe that a profit-booking correction can be seen because the ongoing rally is on a weak foot and is mainly driven by select heavyweights,” said Gaggar.
The Nifty Midcap 100 index stood at 55,245.80, a slight decrease of 0.22%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,288.00, showing a modest gain of 0.25%. The India VIX, a measure of market volatility, was at 14.05, down by 1.86%.
“The domestic market hit a new peak, bolstered by a rally in large-cap stocks, where the valuation is relatively fair. In contrast, mid- and small-cap stocks saw profit-taking due to valuation concerns. Currently, the financials & consumption stocks are catching-up driven by improved balance sheets, a strong GDP growth forecast, and softening inflation. Global market sentiments reflected similar trends, with a consensus on imminent rate cuts,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
The Nifty Bank index increased by 0.50% while the Nifty Auto index saw a decline of 0.92%.
Nifty Financial Services rose by 0.35%, the Nifty FMCG index climbed by 0.39% while the Nifty IT index fell by 0.06%.
Nifty Media experienced the highest gain, rising by 1.60% and the Nifty Metal index dropped by 1.45%.