Sensex Rises To Record High, Nifty Near 16,700; Metal Shares Outperform

The Sensex rose as much as 230 points to hit record high of 56,188.49 and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 16,695

The Indian equity benchmarks edged higher on Wednesday led by buying interest in metal, oil & gas, financial services and banking shares. The Sensex rose as much as 230 points to hit record high of 56,188.49 and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 16,695. Meanwhile, Asian shares held onto their recent gains on Wednesday after last week's fall, as global equities rebounded thanks to a combination of positive COVID-19 vaccine news and easing worries over tapering of Federal Reserve stimulus. As of 9:31 am, the Sensex was up 198 points at 56,156 and Nifty 50 index advanced 64 points to 16,689. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last off slightly, but still up 3.7 per cent so far this week. The index fell to its lowest in 2021 at the end of the previous week. Japan's Nikkei were flat. A Reuters poll of analysts and fund managers showed Japanese shares are expected to recover from their eight-month low marked on Friday to near a 30-year high by the end of this year.