New closing peak: Sensex at 52,232; Nifty at 15,690

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After opening in the green terrain, Indian equity benchmark indices gained in the late afternoon session and ended at record levels on expectations that the RBI will continue with its accommodative stance while keeping a watchful eye on inflation led by rising commodity prices in its policy announcement slated for Friday. At close, the barometer index Sensex settled at a fresh closing peak of 52,232 levels, up 383 points or 0.74%. While the broader market index Nifty 50 after touching a lifetime high of 15,705 ended at new highs of 15,690 up 114 points or 0.73%.

“Domestic markets witnessed a range bound rally with strong buying interest seen in realty and consumer durables with small and mid-cap stocks outperforming. The global market was cautious with the US and European markets trading in red ahead of the release of key economic US data. In the wake of increasing inflationary pressure, the domestic market is awaiting tomorrow’s RBI MPC announcement which is expected to maintain its accommodative stance,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Gainer and losers

Among heavy-weights Titan Company, ONGC, L&T, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank exhibited a smart performance on the Sensex soaring up to 6.7%.

Whereas stocks like IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, Bajaj Auto, M&M, and Dr Reddy’s were the laggards slipping in the range of 0.50-2.15%.

Buzzing sectors

Barring Nifty Pharma (down 0.26%), all sectoral indices ended in the green. Nifty Realty index surged 3.79%  after cabinet approved the Model Tenancy Act. Nifty Bank index rallied 0.78%. The Nifty Metal, Nifty FMCG, and Nifty IT indices rose 0.66%, 0.59%, and 0.18%, respectively.

The volatility gauge India VIX cooled off further by 8.51% and ended at a 52-week low of 15.74 levels.

Broader market

The broader markets continued their outperformance to the headline indices and hit new record highs for the second consecutive day. The BSE MidCap and SamllCap indices ended 1% higher each at 22,370 and 24,075 after hitting a record peak of 22,394 and 24,138, respectively.

Global market

In Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the red, while Tokyo and Seoul finished with gains. Equities in Europe were also trading with losses in mid-session deals. International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.18% lower at $71.22 per barrel