Sensex ends at all-time closing high of 32,246; Nifty nears 10,000 mark

The Nifty ended at a record closing high on Monday, coming within a striking distance of breaching the 10,000 mark for the first time ever on continued buying by foreign funds and domestic retail investors despite weak global cues.

The broader NSE index ended up 51.15 points or 0.52 per cent at 9,966.40, its highest close ever, while the benchmark BSE index ended 216.98 points or 0.68 per cent up at an all-time closing high of 32,245.87.

Market heavyweight Reliance Industries Ltd and the private sector lender HDFC Bank gained on Q1 earnings. Reliance Industries was up 1.91 per cent, while HDFC Bank gained 1.88 percent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, TECK index gained the most by 1.05 per cent, followed by IT 1.05 per cent, FMCG 0.95 per cent and banking 0.5 per cent. On the other hand, metal index was down 0.58 per cent, healthcare 0.42 per cent and realty 0.19 per cent.

Top five Sensex gainers were Bharti Airtel (+2.2%), Wipro (+1.89%), Reliance (+1.89%), HDFC Bank (+1.83%) and TCS (+1.68%), while the major losers were Dr Reddy's (-2.44%), Axis Bank (-1.09%), Tata Steel (-0.93%), Sun Pharma (-0.92%) and ONGC (-0.82%).

Reliance was the leading gainer, advancing as much as 2.5 per cent to its highest since January 15, 2008, after the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate posted better-than-expected earnings and unveiled a low-cost 4G-enabled phone last week.

But indexes could struggle to post stronger gains in the near term as analysts warned investors would likely enter a consolidation phase as more companies report earnings later in the day.

“The process of consolidation is likely to continue. We will see more stock-specific moves coming through depending on how corporate results unfold,” said Gaurang Shah, vice president, Geojit Financial Services.

As per provisional data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 12.90 crore last Friday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also bought shares worth a net Rs 147.66 crore.

Asian stocks slipped as demand for riskier assets ebbed after their recent strong gains, while the European Central Bank's apparent equanimity at the euro's two-year highs left the dollar languishing.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.9 per cent, pressured by a stronger yen.