Sensex Shoots Past Record 54,000 Level, Nifty Rallies Beyond 16,000

Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 400 points in early trade on Wednesday and soared past the 54,000 mark, led by gains in index majors Infosys, HDFC and ICICI Bank amid a positive trend in global markets. After scaling its lifetime peak of 54,256.13 in opening trade, the 30-share index was trading 415.33 points or 0.77 per cent higher at 54,238.69 in initial deals.

In tandem, the broader NSE Nifty surged 116.10 points or 0.72 per cent to an all-time peak of 16,246.85 in early trade.

Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by HDFC, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Infosys, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, SBI, HUL and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.

Domestic equities continue to look good as of now, said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

"Key economic indicators like GST collection, auto sales volume and other high-frequency indicators like e-way bills indicate a strong rebound in July, which bodes well and indicates sustained healthy corporate earnings in subsequent quarters," he noted.

Further, Modi added that India stands to be benefitted from China's regulatory crackdown on technology and education companies in recent weeks in the form of FIIs investments.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has declared that India's active caseload of Covid-19 has risen to 4,10,353. A single-day rise of 42,625 infections and 562 fatalities has pushed the country’s tally of cases to 3,17,69,132 and death toll to 4,25,757

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Tokyo was in the red.

Equities on Wall Street too ended on a positive note in overnight trade.