Stocks scale fresh record highs as banking, energy shares gain

The 30-share Sensex also hit an all-time high of 37,805.25 in day trade, breaking its previous intra-day record level of 37,711.87 touched on August 1, as index major Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank advanced.

The index shed some of the gains before closing up by 135.73 points or 0.36 per cent at 37,691.89, its all-time closing high. Among 30 Sensex scrips, 13 advanced while 17 declined.

The broader NSE Nifty breached the 11,400 level in early trade and touched record intra-day high of 11,427.65 on gains in consumer durables, PSU, metal and auto stocks.

The 50-issue index finally closed higher by 26.30 points or 0.23 per cent at a historic high of 11,387.10, bettering its previous record close of 11,360.80 hit on Friday. 

Fresh buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and better-than-expected June quarter results from some blue-chip companies boosted investor sentiment, brokers said.

"Buoyancy in earnings led the market to touch new high while weak global cues and volatility in rupee influenced profit booking in the latter half. PSU banks outperformed on expectation of improving asset quality," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd, remarked.

Asian markets ended mixed after an initial rally as investors continued to monitor the US-Sino trade spat.

Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging by 3.86 per cent. ICICI Bank rose 3.36 per cent, SBI by 3.33 per cent and Yes Bank by 1.32 per cent.    

Other banking stocks, Punjab National Bank 2.15 per cent, Federal Bank 1.66 per cent and Bank of Baroda 0.74 per cent. 

Bharti Airtel rose by 3.07 per cent after announced a strategic partnership with Telecom Egypt for global submarine cable systems.

Reliance Industries rose further 1.25 per cent, continuing its winning run after its stellar quarterly results and a favourable award from an arbitration panel in a gas row with the government. 

Auto stocks also posted gains with Hero MotoCorp rising 1.72 per cent, M&M by 1.46 per cent, and Maruti Suzuki by 1.08 per cent. Coal India gained 1.56 per cent, Vedanta 0.97 per cent, NTPC 0.06 per cent and HDFC 0.06 per cent.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) rose by 1.44 per cent after Moody's Investors Service said the state-owned firm's highest ever pre-tax quarterly profit provides cash flow to reduce borrowings. For the April-June quarter, ONGC reported a 47.2 per cent increase in operating profit to Rs 14,240 crore. 

Among Sensex losers, Kotak Bank fell the most by 1.7 per cent, followed by Hindustan Unilever which dropped 1.65 per cent due to profit booking.

Sun Pharma fell by 1.58 per cent after a US drug recall while Tata Motors fell 1.57 per cent due to weak global sales numbers. ITC, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints also declined up to 1 per cent.

Analysts said a respite was seen in mid & small cap stocks as worst of earnings seem to be over and investors are gradually turning positive with a bottom-up approach.

The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.39 per cent. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.26 per cent. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Among sectoral indices, bankex index rose the most by surging 1.11 per cent, followed by telecom 1.11 per cent, energy 0.98 per cent and PSU 0.87 per cent.

Metal index gained 0.77 per cent, finance 0.60 per cent, auto 0.41 per cent, infrastructure 0.40 consumer durables 0.27 per cent, power 0.23 per cent, capital goods 0.09 per cent and oil & gas 0.05 per cent.

While realty index down 0.59 per cent, healthcare 0.42 per cent, FMCG, 0.34 per cent and IT by 0.24 per cent.

Among other stocks, Reliance Communications rose 4.65 per cent after the Supreme Court cleared a settlement between RCom and the Indian unit of Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson AB.

HDFC Asset Management Company made a blockbuster debut at the bourses today, with its shares surging 65 per cent, against the issue price of Rs 1,100 per share.

Globally, Asian stocks were mixed as earnings seasons rolled on. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.52 per cent and Singapore higher 0.60 per cent, while Shanghai Composite index fell by 1.29 per cent and Nikkei shed 0.08 per cent. 

European shares were trading slightly up today against the backdrop of renewed trade tensions.

Frankfurt's DAX up 0.29 per and France's Paris CAC was higher at 0.20 per cent. London's FTSE rose 0.22 per cent in their late morning deals.