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The Sensex and Nifty ended flat after hitting a record high earlier as caution set in ahead of gross domestic product data later in the day, but still posted a 4.1 per cent gain for May, its best monthly performance in a year.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended down by 13.6 points or 0.04 per cent at 31,145.80 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty closed lower by 3.3 points or 0.03 per cent at 9,621.25.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index was the star-performer and was up 0.97 per cent, followed by consumer durables 0.78 per cent, auto 0.69 per cent and banking 0.55 per cent. On the other hand, metal index was down 1.43 per cent, IT 0.77 per cent, and TECk 0.65 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were M&M (+3.99%), Lupin (2.75%), GAIL (+2.62%), Power Grid (+1.89%) and ICICI Bank (+1.76%), while the major losers were Infosys (-1.96%), Coal India (-1.42%), Sun Pharma (-1.36%), Reliance (-1.34%) and Tata Steel (-1.14%).
Among losers, Reliance Communications Ltd plunged as much as 9.5 per cent to its lowest ever after Moody's downgraded it deeper into “junk” territory and kept its ratings under review for further downgrade as the company struggles with a heavy debt burden.
But United Spirits Ltd rose to its highest since March 15 after posting gains in March-quarter margins and revenue.
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd gained as much as 6.4 per cent after the company reported nearly 20 per cent rise in March-quarter profit, beating analysts' estimates.
Early trade
The BSE Sensex hit a fresh record high of 31,233 by surging over 74 points, and the NSE Nifty touched a fresh life-time high of 9,638 in early trade today on sustained buying by domestic institutional investors.
Rising for the fifth straight day, the 30-share index rose 74.28 points or 0.23 per cent to hit a new peak of 31,233.68.
The gauge had gained almost 857.76 points in the previous four sessions to close at a record high at 31,159.40 in yesterday’s session. It had also touched an intra-day lifetime high of 31,220.38 in the previous session.
The 50-share NSE Nifty gained 14.15 points, or 0.14 per cent, to scale its lifetime high of 9,638.70. The gauge had touched an intra-day high of 9,637.75 on May 29.
GDP growth
India is set to post annual GDP growth of 7.1 per cent in the January-March quarter, which would allow it to hang on to its status as the world's fastest growing major economy, according to economists polled by Reuters.
Hopes for an improving economy have helped domestic shares hit a string of record highs in May, with the benchmark BSE index adding 4.2 per cent for the month, its best monthly performance since May 2016 and fifth consecutive monthly gain.
The NSE index has gained 3.5 per cent so far this month.
“Markets are consolidating over the past few days after moving sharply up and after the results there are no further triggers going ahead,” said Dipen Shah, senior vice-president and head of private client group research at Kotak Securities.
DII buying
Continued buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) helped the key indices to hit record hits, brokers said.
Besides, the sentiment remained extremely bullish as investors cheered the early arrival of monsoon and engaged in widening their positions, they said.
Meanwhile, DIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 366.97 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 217.10 crore yesterday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Asian shares
Asian stocks climbed on Wednesday, capping a fifth consecutive month of gains, as data showed China's factory activity grew at a steady clip this month, bucking expectations of a slowdown.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 per cent on Wednesday, with Chinese stocks leading the region higher as investors returned from a long holiday break. Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.1 per cent.
US stocks inched lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 retreating slightly from a record, as weakness in the energy and financial sectors outweighed gains in technology shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50.81 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 21,029.47, the S&P 500 lost 2.91 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 2,412.91 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.01 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 6,203.19.
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