Sensex closes above 80,000 for first time, Nifty at 24,302

Mumbai: Indian equity indices closed with marginal gains on Thursday following a volatile session. Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 80,392 and 24,401 respectively, but the markets were unable to hold onto the higher levels as the day progressed.

At closing, Sensex was up 62 points or 0.08 per cent at 80,049 and Nifty was up 15 points or 0.06 per cent at 24,302. This is the first time the Sensex closed above 80,000.

Midcap and smallcap stocks outperformed the broader market. The Nifty midcap 100 index closed at 56,618, up 325 points or 0.58 per cent, and the Nifty smallcap 100 index closed at 18,792, up 92 points or 0.49 per cent.

Tata Motors, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, TCS, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra were the top gainers. HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and L&T were the top losers.

On the sectoral indices, Auto, IT, pharma, realty and PSE were major gainers. Service and FMCG were major laggards.

According to the experts, "The buoyancy in government spending and the green shoots in corporate earnings are now supporting the premium valuation. Return of FIIs to the domestic market and expectation of a rate cut in September are supporting market sentiment."