Sensex, Nifty hit fresh lifetime highs in opening session

Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 150 points and Nifty crossed the 13,300 level to touch their fresh lifetime peaks in early trade on Monday tracking gains in index majors ICICI Bank, ITC and HUL amid persistent foreign fund inflow. After touching a record intra-day high of 45,245.30, the 30-share BSE index was trading 150.78 points or 0.33 per cent higher at 45,230.33.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 48.35 points or 0.36 per cent up at 13,306.90. It touched its lifetime intra-day peak of 13,310.85 in early trade.

ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by ITC, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, HUL, UltraTech Cement and Asian Paints.

On the other hand, HDFC Bank, Titan, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech and TCS were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 446.90 points or 1 per cent higher at 45,079.55, while Nifty finished 124.65 points or 0.95 per cent higher at 13,258.55 — its record closing high.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,969.59 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

The Reserve Bank’s commitment to ensure a broad-based growth by maintaining a dovish tone continued to bode well for equities, said Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Further, positive progress on COVID-19 vaccination and increased visibility of fiscal stimulus in the US may continue to attract FPIs into emerging markets including India, he added.

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

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.41 per cent lower at USD 49.05 per barrel.