Sensex scales new intra-day peak of 40,607, Nifty reclaims 12,000-mark; Infosys, ICICI Bank among top gainers

Market benchmark BSE Sensex surged over 350 points to hit its record intra-day peak of 40,606.91 points on Wednesday driven by strong buying sentiment in banking, metal and realty stocks.

After starting on a choppy note, the 30-share index rallied to trade 332.85 points, or 0.83 percent, higher at 40,581.08 in the afternoon session. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty briefly reclaimed the 12,000 mark. At 2.15 pm, it was trading 85.45 points, or 0.72 percent, to 12,002.65.

On 23 May this year, Nifty had crossed 12,000-mark for the first time. Nifty had registered its closing peak of 12,088.55 on 3 June 2019.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Infosys, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, HDFC, Tata Motors and L&T, rising up to 2.54 percent.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, RIL, Maruti and SBI were among the top losers, shedding up to 3 percent.

Representational image. Reuters.

In the morning trade, Sensex dropped over 100 points dragged by losses in index heavyweights HDFC twins, RIL, ITC and TCS amid tepid global cues.

After opening marginally higher, the 30-share index slipped into the negative terrain to trade 113.84 points, or 0.28 percent, lower at 40,134.39.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 32.60 points, or 0.27 percent, to 11,884.60.

Globally, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a positive note, while those in Shanghai slipped into the red.

Exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in their respective early deals. On the currency front, the rupee appreciated 25 paise against the US dollar to trade at 70.94 in early session.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.92 percent to $62.38 per barrel.

— With PTI inputs