Sensex zooms 442 points to close at a record 38,694; Nifty ends at a fresh high

MUMBAI: The BSE Sensex on Monday zoomed 442 points to close at a record high of 38,694.11. The Nifty too climbed 134.85 points to end at a fresh high of 11,691.95.

Supported by firm global cues, the Sensex and the Nifty 50 touched their all-time high levels of 38,736.88 points and 11,700.95 points respectively and also settled at record closing levels.

Healthy buying was witnessed in banking, consumer durables and IT stocks, analysts said. The S&P BSE banking index surged around 530 points during the day.

At 3.30 p.m., the wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange provisionally closed at 11,691.95 points, higher by 134.85 points or 1.17 per cent from its previous close of 11,557.10 points.

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which had opened at 38,472.03 points, closed at 38,694.11 points, higher by 442.31 points or 1.16 per cent from its previous close of 38,251.80 points. 

It touched an intra-day low of 38,416.73 points.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, and Infosys, while Sun Pharma was the only loser during the day.

Last week, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had said that a "gradual approach" to interest rate hikes would be in the best interest of the US economy and jobs generation, helping Wall Street boost sentiment at the week's close.

Asian shares too ended higher and European markets were firm in their early deals, tracking Friday's gain on the US markets, brokers said.