Sensex surges over 200 pts to hit fresh record; Nifty nears 17,200

Mumbai September 1 dmanewsdesk: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 200 points to scale a fresh record in early trade on Wednesday, following strong GDP data and heavy foreign fund inflow.

The broader NSE Nifty too surged to its lifetime high of 17,194.35.

After touching a record high of 57,783.34, the 30-share index was trading 205.86 points or 0.36 per cent up at 57,758.25. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 56.55 points or 0.33 per cent to 17,188.75 in the opening session.

Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 4 per cent, followed by Asian Paints, L&T, Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, Nestle India and UltraTech Cement.

On the other hand, Tata Steel, HDFC, Maruti and Bajaj Finserv were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE index ended 662.63 points or 1.16 per cent higher at its record close of 57,552.39, and Nifty soared 201.15 points or 1.19 per cent to an all-time closing peak of 17,132.20.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 3,881.16 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional exchange data.

According to experts, market sentiment got a boost following record growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the first quarter of the fiscal, putting India on track to achieving the world’s fastest growth this year.

 The Indian economy grew by a record 20.1 per cent in the April-June quarter, helped by a very weak base of last year and a sharp rebound in the manufacturing and services sectors in spite of a devastating second wave of COVID-19.

In Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

US equities ended with mild losses in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.63 per cent to USD 72.08 per barrel. 

Source: PTI