Sensex ends 77 points higher at 40,129, Nifty tops 11,850

Extending its gains for the fifth straight session, market benchmark BSE Sensex ended 77 points higher at 40,129 on Thursday on the back of a rally in IT and banking stocks.

After touching a fresh lifetime high of 40,392.22 (intra-day), the 30-share index settled 77.18 points, or 0.19 per cent, higher at 40,129.05.

The broader NSE Nifty too advanced 33.35 points, or 0.28 per cent, to close at 11,877.45.

Yes Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring 24.03 per cent, after the lender said it had received a binding offer for USD 1.2 billion (approximately Rs 8,500 crore) funding from an overseas investor.

SBI, Infosys, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech and HDFC too rallied up to 7.69 per cent.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, M&M and ICICI Bank fell up to 2.09 per cent.

According to Gaurav Dua, Senior VP, Head - Capital Market Strategy and Investments, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, Sensex hit its record intra-day high on the back of positive factors including decent Q2 results, boost to consumer demand in the festive season and policy push by the government to support the economy.

A massive spike foreign fund inflows and hopes that the government will rejig taxes on equity investors too boosted investor sentiment, traders said.

Foreign institutional investors pumped in a net Rs 7,192.42 crore into the capital market on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 185.87 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.

The US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its benchmark interest rate for the third straight time also buoyed market mood.

However, benchmark indices turned volatile in the last hour of the session as October futures and options contracts expired, traders said.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended on a positive note amid, while Shanghai closed in the red.

Exchanges in Europe were trading on a negative note in their respective early deals. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee depreciated 12 paise to 71.02 against the US dollar intra-day. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.13 per cent to USD 60.16 per barrel.