Sensex scores a hat-trick as investors keep faith

Extending its record-setting run for the third straight day, benchmark Sensex rose 33.13 points to close at a fresh lifetime high of 36,858.23 today on persistent buying by domestic and foreign investors.

Covering-up of short positions by participants ahead of July futures and options (F&O) expiry tomorrow also supported the upmove, brokers said.

Buoyed by metal and financial stocks, the 30-share Sensex touched a new intra-day record high of 36,947.18 after a bout of choppy trade, surpassing its previous high of 36,902.06 hit yesterday.

It lost some ground due to profit-booking but settled at a new closing peak of 36,858.23, up 33.13 points, or 0.09 per cent. The Sensex bettered its previous record of 36,825.10 touched in yesterday's session.

The index has now gained 473.87 points in three days.

However, the broader 50-issue NSE Nifty slipped from its record closing, shedding 2.30 points or 0.02 per cent to end at 11,132.00. Intra-day, it moved between 11,157.15 and 11,113.25. Yesterday, it had closed at a new peak of 11,134.30.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), who have been supporting the ongoing rally, bought shares to the tune of Rs 104.34 crore yesterday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth a net Rs 513.78 crore, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

"Rupee gained marginally and stock specific buying was seen on the back of earnings and improved guidance. Market participants are likely to take a cautious approach ahead of F&O expiry tomorrow," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

SBI was the top gainer among Sensex components, climbing 1.78 per cent, followed by Adani Ports 1.53 per cent,

Tata Steel 1.49 per cent and Vedanta Ltd 1.30 per cent.

Other gainers included ONGC 1.21 per cent, HDFC 1.07 per cent, IndusInd Bank 0.95 per cent, ITC 0.63 per cent,

HDFC Bank 0.63 per cent, Infosys 0.56 per cent, Wipro 0.48 per cent, Hero MotoCorp 0.34 per cent, RIL 0.32 per cent and Kotak Bank 0.11 per cent.

In contrast, NTPC fell 4.01 per cent, Axis Bank 2.59 per cent, PowerGrid 1.49 per cent, Asian Paints 1.45 per cent,

Bharti Airtel 1.28 per cent, M&M 1.19 per cent, TCS 0.87 per cent, HUL 0.83 per cent and Coal India 0.81 per cent, among others.

Sector-wise, metal advanced 0.82 per cent, followed by finance 0.46 per cent, oil and gas 0.18 per cent, energy 0.17 per cent, bankex 0.14 per cent and FMCG 0.13 per cent.

Power, consumer durables, realty, PSU, teck, telecom and healthcare fell up to 1.52 per cent as investors cashed in gains.

The broader market displayed a mixed trend, with the BSE small-cap index inching up 0.23 per cent while the mid-cap  gauge fell 0.12 per cent.

Globally, markets displayed a mixed trend as investors awaited a key meeting between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and President Donald Trump in the backdrop of the US administration's increasingly protectionist trade policies.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.02 per cent and Japan's Nikkei gained 0.46 per cent. Shanghai Composite Index, however, shed 0.04 per cent.

In the Eurozone, Paris CAC 40 rose 0.20 per cent, while Frankfurt's DAX was up by 0.02 per cent in late morning trade. London's FTSE, however, shed 0.10 per cent.