Mumbai, Nov 25: Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 300 points in opening trade on Wednesday, tracking gains in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank amid largely positive cues from global markets and persistent foreign fund inflows.
After touching a lifetime high of 44,825.37 in the opening session, the 30-share BSE index was trading 242.76 points or 0.55 per cent higher at 44,765.78.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty touched a record intra-day peak of 13,145.85, before trading 76.25 points or 0.58 per cent up at 13,131.40.
ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 5 per cent, followed by SBI, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Axis Bank.
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On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance and Infosys were among the laggards.
In the previous session, Sensex ended 445.87 points or 1.01 per cent higher at a record high of 44,523.02, and Nifty rose 128.70 points or 1 per cent to close above the 13,000-mark for the first time at 13,055.15.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,563.18 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.
Domestic equities continued to look good at the moment on favourable global cues, said Binod Modi, Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.
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"Strong FPIs flow emerged as the main contributor to domestic markets’ sharp rally in November. Monthly futures and options (F&O) expiry is expected to create some amount of volatility hereon," he added.
He further noted that US equities closed sharply higher as investors continued to cheer the progress on COVID-19 vaccines along with ease of political uncertainty after Trump's administration indicated a smooth transition for President-elect Joe Biden to the White House.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the red.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.26 per cent higher at $48.38 per barrel.