Tuesday was a special day in the history of Indian stock markets as the cash market on NSE saw a record turnover.

Total cash market traded value on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) stood at Rs 41,167.23 crore (includes extended trading session), official data showed.

The previous record was on May 19, 2009 when the cash market turnover on NSE hit a level of Rs 40,150.91 crore, informed sources said.

The cash market activity on Tuesday was bolstered by the Japanese pharma major Daiichi Sankyo offloading its entire 8.9 per cent stake in Sun Pharmaceuticals through bulk deals.

Sun Pharmaceuticals counter witnessed a huge trading volume of 26.57 crore shares on NSE and the traded value was Rs 24,817.52 crore. Daiichi held 21.49 crore shares in Sun Pharmaceuticals.

Another reason for the increased cash market activity is the fact that Tuesday was Akshaya Tritiya, an auspicious day to buy gold related products. This may have led to some buying interest in gold-based exchange traded investments.

NSE trading hours were extended on account of the Akshaya Tritiya day.

srivatskr@thehindu.co.in

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