Sensex closes above 66,000-mark for 1st time, Nifty settles at new record high on FII inflows

The NSE Nifty went up by 150.75 points or 0.78% to end at a new record high of 19,564.50.

Benchmark BSE Sensex closed above the historic 66,000 mark for the first time while NSE Nifty hit a new all-time closing high on Friday driven by heavy buying in IT counters and fresh foreign fund inflows.

Optimism in global equity markets also helped the local markets maintain their winning momentum for a second day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 502.01 points or 0.77% to settle at its new all-time closing high of 66,060.90. During the day, it rallied 600.9 points or 0.91% to hit its all-time intra-day peak of 66,159.79.

The NSE Nifty went up by 150.75 points or 0.78% to end at a new record high of 19,564.50. During the day, it reached its lifetime intra-day peak of 19,595.35, registering a jump of 181.6 points or 0.93%.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services jumped over 5% and Tech Mahindra rallied 4.51%. Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tata Steel, Nestle, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro and Hindustan Unilever were also among the major gainers.

On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Titan, Maruti, UltraTech Cement, NTPC and Axis Bank were among the laggards.

“The controlled inflation in the US has instilled optimism among investors that a 25-bps rate hike would be adequate to stabilise the US economy. This improved prospect has contributed to the strong buying of Indian IT stocks despite muted Q1 earnings.