Thinning valuation gap between these and mid-caps indicates a shift in investors' preferences.
The 50-share NSE Nifty after moving between 10,374.30 and 10,307.30 settled flat at 10,348.75, up 6.45 points, or 0.06 per cent.
The BSE Sensex surged over 442 points to close at its life-time high of 38,694.11 and the broader NSE Nifty ended at a fresh record of 11,691.95, rising 134.85 points.
SBI was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, tumbling 3.29 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and Maruti, which shed up to 2.76 per cent.
Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, SBI, HUL, NTPC, ONGC, ITC and Asian Paints rose up to 2.19 per cent.
In the past few years, MFs have emerged as significant institutional buyers, often offsetting the selling by FPIs.
In the Sensex pack, gainers included HCL Tech, SBI, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, TCS, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, TCS, Bajaj Finance and Infosys, jumping up to 3.84 per cent.
NTPC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 3.44 per cent. Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, TCS, HDFC twins, Yes Bank and RIL too gained up to 2.33 per cent.
Mutual funds (MFs) are set to be net sellers of Indian equities for the first time in the past seven financial years, having sold stocks worth about Rs 1.27 trillion so far in 2020-21 (FY21), making it the highest net sales on record in a financial year. MFs had been net buyers in the previous six financial years, including purchases of over Rs 1.41 trillion in FY18, Rs 88,152 crore in FY19, and Rs 91,814 crore in FY20. The last time they offloaded Indian equities was in FY14, when they net sold stocks worth Rs 21,159 crore. In contrast, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have ramped up buying in FY21, purchasing more than Rs 2.6 trillion worth of shares.
The 50-share Nifty scaled a high of 10,227.30 intra-day but succumbed to profit-booking to finish at 10,155.25
The broad-based NSE Nifty, after shuttling between 10,296.70 and 10,211.90, finally ended 15.80 points, or 0.15 per cent down at 10,226.85.
Infrastructure, power, capital goods, PSU, healthcare, banking, oil and gas and metal stocks nosedived
Yes Bank was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing 4.08 per cent, followed by Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Hero MotoCorp, HCL Tech, Vedanta, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Maruti, ITC, IndusInd Bank, TCS, HUL and SBI, rising up to 2.67 per cent.
Stretched valuations and slowdown in DII flows are some of the reasons why Goldman Sachs cut its India rating to 'market-weight'
HCL Tech and ONGC were the top gainers in the Sensex, rising up to 3.40 per cent.
FIIs have offloaded shares of Bajaj Corp, Nestle, Jyothy Laboratories and Britannia.
The 50-share NSE Nifty, however, was little changed, ending 1.20 points down
Investor sentiment remained upbeat on narrowing trade deficit and sustained foreign fund inflows.
Technology stocks rallied, with the IT index up 2.45 per cent as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies spurted following favourable rupee movement.
The NSE Nifty, after hitting a high of 10,758.55, closed at 10,717.80, up just 2.30 points, or 0.02 per cent.
The NSE Nifty after regaining the 10,600-mark hit a high of 10,604.90 on the back of widespread gains, and finally concluded 72.25 points or 0.69 per cent higher at 10,584.75.
Selling took hold at the start of October futures and options series in the derivatives segment as investors were concerned over the surging crude oil prices and escalating trade tensions between the US and China
Continued capital inflows by foreign funds and retail investors kept market's mood upbeat, traders said.
Bajaj Finance was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 3.64 per cent. Tata Motors, Infosys, Vedanta, ONGC, PowerGrid, NPTC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, TCS and RIL too rose up to 3.48 per cent.
The Sensex was mainly dragged by Reliance Industries, HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI, which lost up to 3.35 per cent.
In the Sensex pack, losers included TCS, HUL, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, ITC and Vedanta, shedding up to 3.70 per cent.
The NSE Nifty settled the day 28.30 points, or 0.27 per cent, lower at 10,554.30.
The fall was led by L&T, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, NTPC, TCS, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel and SBI, declining up to 2.64 per cent.
On a weekly basis, the Sensex scored a moderate gain of 76.57 points, or 0.22 per cent while the Nifty rose 8.75 points, or 0.08 per cent.
The NSE Nifty too lost 41.20 points, or 0.36 per cent, to finish at 11,429.50.
Top losers in the Sensex pack included Tata Steel, Vedanta, Maruti, SBI, Coal India, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, HUL, RIL, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC duo, ICICI Bank, M&M, Kotak Bank, and Infosys, falling up to 2.89 per cent.
The broader 50-issue NSE Nifty too slipped from its record high, shedding 10.30 points or 0.09 per cent to end at 11,346.20.
Top losers in the Sensex pack included Yes Bank, Vedanta, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, L&T, SBI, NTPC, Kotak Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, PowerGrid, Infosys and ITC, falling up to 4.18 per cent.
Sectorally, metal, auto and IT stocks were leading gainers amid sustained foreign fund inflow.
The broad-based NSE Nifty hit a low of 10,979.30 intra-day, managed to end above the 11,000-level at 11,027.70, down 21.95 points, or 0.20 per cent.
Other top losers in the Sensex pack included Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, TCS, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, SBI, IndusInd Bank and Hero MotoCorp, declining up to 3.28 per cent.
The benchmarks logged the first weekly loss in three weeks.
The BSE Sensex, after scaling a new intra-day high of 32,699.86 in early trade on sustained buying by DIIs and other participants, succumbed to profit booking and closed the day at 32,609.16, down 24.48 points or 0.08 per cent.
The NSE Nifty closed lower by 44.55 points, or 0.39 per cent, at 11,234.35. Intra-day, it shuttled between 11,332.05 and 11,210.90.
The broader NSE Nifty dropped by 48.65 points, or 0.45 per cent to 10,808.05 after shuttling between 10,773.55 and 10,833.70.