Sensex, Nifty end at record highs; Infosys rallies 5%

IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, HUL, M&M, Tata Steel, PowerGrid and Tech Mahindra too ended with gains on the BSE.

Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended at fresh lifetime highs on Monday, propelled by gains in Infosys amid positive domestic and global cues.

After rallying nearly 300 points to its record intra-day high of 41,899.63, the 30-share BSE index settled at a new closing peak of 41,859.69, up 259.97 points, or 0.62 per cent.

Likewise, the broader Nifty scaled its lifetime (intra-day) high of 12,337.75, before ending at 72.75 points, or 0.59 per cent, higher at 12,329.55 -- its new closing peak.

Both indices were driven by Infosys, that rallied 4.76 per cent, after the IT services major on Friday reported a 23.7 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,466 crore for the December quarter.

IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, HUL, M&M, Tata Steel, PowerGrid and Tech Mahindra too ended with gains on the BSE.

On the other hand, TCS, SBI, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, RIL, Axis Bank and Nestle India finished in the red.

According to traders, besides positive quarterly numbers from Infosys, positive domestic macro data and firm global cues boosted market mood here.

After contracting for three months in a row, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a growth of 1.8 per cent in November, mainly on account of improvement in the manufacturing sector, as per government data released after market hours on Friday.

Further, Indian markets opened the week on a positive note following upbeat trend Asian markets as the long-awaited phase one trade deal between the US and China is set to be signed this week, experts said.

Brent crude oil futures rose 0.37 per cent to $65.22 per barrel.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters