Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs on Tata Motors, HDFC Bank Gains

Mumbai, Jul 30 (PTI) Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty eked out gains in volatile trade to settle at record high levels on Tuesday, extending their gaining streak to the third day on the back of buying in Tata Motors and HDFC Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 99.56 points or 0.12 per cent at 81,455.40 -- its all-time closing high -- with 16 of its components advancing and 14 ending lower. The index opened higher and jumped 459.43 points or 0.56 per cent to hit an intra-day high of 81,815.27.

The NSE Nifty edged up 21.20 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at an all-time closing high of 24,857.30. During the day, it surged 135.65 points or 0.54 per cent to 24,971.75. The index hit a low of 24,798.65.

"The domestic market ended flat, due to by profit-booking at higher levels. However, the expectation of dovish comments from the US Fed and BoE in the upcoming policy meetings this week is supporting the optimism," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.

Despite heavy volatility, the combined market valuation of all BSE-listed companies hit the USD 5.50-trillion (Rs 460 lakh crore) milestone for the first time.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid Corp, Titan, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Steel were among the biggest gainers.

Sun Pharmaceuticals, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge jumped 0.88 per cent and the midcap index climbed 0.27 per cent. During the day, both indices hit their all-time high level.

Among the indices, Utilities surged 1.97 per cent, Power bounced 1.49 per cent, Consumer durables rallied 1.15 per cent, oil & gas by 0.73 per cent and consumer discretionary by 0.72 per cent).

FMCG, healthcare, IT and Teck were the laggards.

CAMS shares closed over 9 per cent higher at Rs 4,692.20 per piece ahead of June quarter results that are scheduled to be released this Friday.

On Tuesday, shares of Tata Motors closed higher by 3 per cent on the BSE. During the day, it advanced 4.9 per cent to hit its 52-week high of Rs 1,179.05 apiece. The company's market valuation jumped by Rs 12,843.07 crore to Rs 3,86,408.44 crore.

Also, shares of transmission and distribution structure manufacturing company Skipper settled over 9 per cent higher at Rs 403.75 apiece after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 32.42 crore in Q1 FY25.

NTPC, Power Grid, Strides Pharma Science and Colgate-Palmolive shares also hit 52-week highs on the bourse.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the negative territory. European markets were trading on a mixed note. The US markets closed higher on Monday.

"Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, reversing a rebound from the prior session as sentiment remained on the edge before interest rate decisions from the Bank of Japan, Bank of England and the Federal Reserve in the coming days.

"European shares opened higher on Tuesday, boosted by gains in technology and oil stocks, and after the euro-area economy grew more than expected in the second quarter, easing fears about the pace of an economic recovery," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.05 per cent to USD 79.73 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,474.54 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed higher by 23.12 points or 0.03 per cent at 81,355.84, its all-time closing high.

The NSE Nifty ended marginally up 1.25 points or 0.01 per cent at an all-time closing high of 24,836.10.