Sensex & Nifty touch record high; Power Grid jumps 6 per cent, PNB, Canara Bank & other PSBs continue to rally

On Wednesday, the domestic benchmark indices touched new closing peaks as bulls kept supporting the rally. Sensex closed at 50,255.75 levels, up by 458.03 points or by 0.92 per cent while Nifty gained 142.10 points or 0.97 per cent to settle at 14,789.95 levels. 

The post-Budget momentum continues to be in the favour of the bulls as indices gained for the third straight session with support from favourable global cues. 

During today's trading session, the banking, IT, pharma & auto stocks recorded sharp gains. 

In other Asian markets, Shanghai Composite index declined by 0.46 per cent whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Japan's Nikkei, and South Korea's KOSPI indices rose by 0.20 per cent, 1 per cent and 1.06 per cent, respectively. 

In the European markets, FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40 were trading in green, up by 0.35 per cent, 0.57 per cent, and 0.22 per cent, respectively. 

Indian rupee ended flat at 72.96 amid buying being witnessed in the domestic equity market. 

Sensex gainers included IndusInd Bank that jumped 7.65 per cent, Power Grid surged 6.28 per cent, Dr Reddy's Laboratories went up by 3.71 per cent, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries gained 3.29 per cent, NTPC inched higher by 3.13 per cent, Axis Bank increased by 2.79 per cent, Titan Company rose by 2.59 per cent, etc. 

Sensex losers consisted of UltraTech Cement that plunged 0.90 per cent, Maruti Suzuki inched lower by 0.89 per cent, ITC fell by 0.66 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank went down by 0.63 per cent, Asian Paints decreased by 0.42 per cent, Nestle India fell by 0.20 per cent, etc. 

Amongst sectoral indices on BSE, the Utilities index was the biggest gainer, up by 2.47 per cent while Realty index was the biggest loser, declining by 0.46 per cent. BSE Healthcare index gained by 2.40 per cent while BSE IT index rose by 0.97 per cent, followed by BSE Auto index, which was up by 1.20 per cent. BSE Metal index too gained 1.56 per cent on Wednesday. 

In the broader markets, BSE Small-Cap index and BSE Mid-Cap index surged 1.38 per cent and 1.47 per cent, respectively.