The Sensex closed above the 39000-mark for the first time in six months on Wednesday as equities extended their winning streak for the fourth straight session amid upbeat global cues.
The BSE benchmark, which opened on a cautious note, touched a high of 39111.55 amid fag-end buying. It finally ended at 39073.92, up 230.04 points or 0.59 per cent.
The Sensex had last closed above the 39000-level on February 27 this year.
On similar lines, the NSE Nifty advanced 77.35 points or 0.67 per cent to finish at 11549.60.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 5.93 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto and HCL Tech.
Market heavyweight RIL contributed to over half of the index’s gains.
Global markets were on the upswing ahead of a key speech by US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium.
“Volumes on the NSE were in line with the recent average, with auto stocks (on hopes of a GST cut on two-wheelers), banks and media stocks
doing well, while pharma and FMCG stocks were dull. Midcap and smallcap indices rose for the 8th consecutive session — the longest such streak since January 2020,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research, HDFC Securities.
In the rest of Asia, bourses in Hong Kong and Seoul ended with gains, while Shanghai and Tokyo closed lower.
In Europe, stock exchanges in Paris and Frankfurt were trading on a positive note in early deals, while London witnessed losses.
Brent crude was trading 0.13 per cent higher at $46.23 per barrel.
The rupee pared some of its early gains to settle 3 paise higher at 74.30 against the dollar on Wednesday supported by positive domestic equities and sustained foreign fund inflows.
Volatility guard
Sebi on Wednesday said measures to deal with market volatility will be in place till September 24 after reviewing the pandemic-related situation. In March, Sebi had come out with various measures, including revision of market wide position limit, to ensure orderly trading and settlement.
“The Indian rupee ended flat on Wednesday against the US dollar for the second straight day as markets turned cautious ahead of the Fed speech from Jerome Powell tomorrow,” said Sriram Iyer, senior research analyst, Reliance Securities.
Iyer said market sentiments remain upbeat supported by optimism surrounding the US-China trade deal and foreign fund inflows into the domestic equity markets.
However, appreciation was limited due to likely intervention by the central bank in the spot and forwards market to counter the impact of dollar portfolio inflows, he said. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.06 per cent to 93.07.
