Late short-covering propels Nifty to record close

Mumbai: The NSE benchmark Nifty advanced over 33 points to close at a fresh lifetime high of 20,103 while Sensex ticked higher for the tenth straight session on Thursday, helped by fag-end buying in oil & gas, metal and commodity stocks amid a largely firm trend in global equities.

After swinging between gains and losses throughout the session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 52.01 points or 0.08 per cent to settle at 67,519. During the session, it jumped 304.06 points or 0.45 per cent to hit its all-time intra-day high of 67,771.05. In the past 10 sessions, the BSE index has jumped 2,687.59 points or 4.14 per cent.

The Nifty advanced 33.10 points or 0.16 per cent to end at its all-time closing high of 20,103.10. During the day, it gained 97.65 points or 0.48 per cent to reach its lifetime intra-day peak of 20,167.65. “While the north-bound journey continued, the uptick lacked the firepower as seen in recent sessions as valuations are becoming expensive and investors are taking a cautious route.

Rising global crude oil prices are also making investors jittery as this could stoke inflation and force central banks worldwide to maintain the rate hike regime. Despite early volatility and a range-bound trend thereafter, metals, oil & gas and realty shares sparkled, indicating that traders are willing to take selective bets,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head (research-retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.