Sensex, Nifty scale fresh highs; auto, metal stocks zoom

Mumbai: Extending their record setting run for the second day, benchmarks Sensex and Nifty finished at fresh lifetime highs on Thursday as sentiment remained upbeat on forecast of a normal monsoon this year.

The BSE Sensex edged up by about 3 points to end at 30,250.98, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 15 points to reach 9,422.40.

The indices had ended at record highs in yesterday's session as well after the weather office said monsoon rainfall this year will exceed its earlier forecast, easing inflation worries.

Two-wheeler makers Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto were the top performers in the Sensex pack on expectations that normal monsoon will boost rural demand.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened higher and soared to yet another intra-day record of 30,366.43, but slipped on profit- booking towards the fag-end.

It finally ended at 30,250.98, up 2.81 points or 0.01 percent, surpassing the previous record closing high of 30,248.17 reached yesterday.

The gauge has now risen by 392.18 points in four sessions.

On similar lines, the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 15.10 points or 0.16 percent to 9,422.40 after scaling a fresh intra-day high of 9,450.65.

The index broke its previous record closing of 9,407.30 reached yesterday.

"Today's volatility in the European market ahead of BoE policy meet has turned investors to profit-booking.

"But positive implication of a good monsoon forecast and government's focus on reforms is attracting investors to stay in the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth net Rs 893.36 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Most Asian stocks advanced as global equities remained at record levels amid a rebound in oil. Key indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan rose up to 1.16 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE was up 0.01 percent, Paris CAC 40 rose 0.07 percent, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.05 percent in their early deals.

Back home, 14 scrips in the 30-share Sensex pack ended higher, while the remaining 16 closed with losses.

Major gainer Hero MotoCorp rose 4.26 percent. It was followed by Bajaj Auto 3.12 percent, Adani Ports 2.28 percent, SBI 1.15 percent, ITC 1.00 percent, Sun Pharma 0.93 percent and Wipro 0.89 percent.

However, Bharti Airtel fell 2.21 percent, Gail 2.14 percent, ONGC 1.94 percent, HUL 1.78 percent, Axis Bank 1.69 percent, NTPC 1.39 percent, Coal India 1.20 percent, Power Grid 1.14 percent and Tata Motors 1.08 percent.

Among the sectoral indices, consumer durables rose 1.65 percent, auto 0.98 percent, metal 0.69 percent, teck 0.57 percent, healthcare 0.55 percent and IT 0.29 percent.

However, power fell 1.22 percent, utilities 1.03 percent, oil&gas 0.93 percent, energy 0.63 percent and capital goods 0.51 percent.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.05 percent, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.05 percent.

The market breadth turned negative as 1,583 stocks closed in red, while 1,247 finished in green and 162 ruled steady.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4,031.10 crore, higher than Rs 3,625.49 crore registered during the previous trading session.