Sensex skyrockets 765 points to end at new peak; Nifty tops 16,900

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex zoomed 765 points to scale a fresh lifetime high on Monday, driven by gains in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank amid a positive trend in global markets.

After touching a lifetime high of 56,958.27 during the day, the 30-share index ended 765.04 points or 1.36 per cent higher at 56,889.76.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 225.85 points or 1.35 per cent to its record closing of 16,931.05. It touched an all-time intra-day high of 16,951.50.

Bharti Airtel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 4 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Titan, Maruti and Bajaj Finance.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Infosys and TCS were the laggards.

"Domestic equities skyrocketed on strong global cues with benchmark Nifty is just one notch away to surpass 17,000 mark," said Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Dovish commentary from US Federal Reserve chairman in Jackson Hole Symposium lifted investors' sentiments globally, he noted.

Financial and metals witnessed sharp recovery. Barring IT, most key sectoral indices traded in green with decent rebound. Strong buying in midcap and smallcap stocks continued as recent correction made risk reward propositions favourable for investors, Modi said.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains. Equities in Europe were also trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.20 per cent to USD 71.56 per barrel.